HIALEAH, Fla. – A Key Largo woman was arrested in Hialeah after investigators said she impersonated a supervisor with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and told a man that she could get him and his family easy access to becoming legal citizens for $8,000 in cash. There were other victims, too, that gave her money totaling $15,000, according to investigators.
Hialeah police said Isabel Robaina, 55, would pass herself off as a head supervisor of the South Florida immigration department then promise to help victims with their immigration needs. She told them she was “highly recognized and honored in the immigration department and that she had direct access to expedite immigration applications,” according to a police report obtained by Local 10 News.
Joshua Garfinkel of the Hialeah Police Department said that Robaina was able to pocket $15,000 in cash and that there may be more victims who gave her additional money.
One man who had given her $8,000 said he got suspicious when Robaina kept stalling each time he requested documents and asked to meet with her. A police report said at one point she told the man a drive-by shooting, which occurred within the immigration building caused a lockdown, on another occasion, she said that she could not meet with him after testing positive for COVID-19.
The victim said Robaina showed him false immigration documents and United States official seals stating that he and his relatives’ applications were almost finalized. She also displayed a badge, the victim told police. Robaina had initially told the victim that there was a three-year law passed by immigration that would allow for easy access to becoming legal in the United States.
According to the report, she would frequent religious gatherings held at a home in Hialeah. Noel Hernandez, a religious leader, would host the meetings. He told Local 10 News that everyone thought Robaina was a federal immigration agent.
In another instance, she promised a woman and her son legal status in the United States and instructed the woman to bring her two separate envelopes containing cash — one envelope with $2,200 and another containing $1,800, according to investigators.
“She would tell them, ‘Hey, I can get you immigration services. I can make you a citizen in this country. I can speed up your residency because I work for this agency,” Garfinkel said.
On Tuesday, Feb. 8., Hialeah detectives were alerted to Robaina’s vehicle in the area of East 10th Court and East 49th Street. Following a traffic stop, Robaina was taken into custody, then arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center prison in Miami-Dade County.
Robaina has since bonded out of jail but she still faces several charges including grand theft and impersonating a federal officer.
Hialeah police believe there may be other victims that fell for Robaina’s story and are urged to contact the Hialeah police department.