Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges Queens Man with Impersonating an Attorney and Filing False Immigration Documents

March 19, 2010 - PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), announced that DAVENG WEE was indicted today on charges relating to his use of the name and attorney registration number of an attorney to file false immigration documents. WEE, 33, of Forest Hills, New York, was previously arrested on February 3, 2010, and is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan federal court on March 22, 2010, by United States District Judge THOMAS P. GRIESA.

According to the Complaint against WEE and the Indictment filed today in Manhattan federal court:

From October 2006 to March 2009, WEE, who is not an attorney and is not admitted to the bar in New York, used the name and attorney registration number of a real New York attorney to practice immigration law in New York City. During that time, WEE submitted documents to federal immigration authorities on behalf of individuals in various immigration matters. In these filings, WEE claimed to be an actual attorney who had been admitted to practice law in New York in 2000. WEE also claimed to be an attorney in good standing in New York, and, on at least two occasions, WEE provided the attorney registration number of the attorney WEE was impersonating.

In May 2007, WEE, who is a citizen of Singapore, made additional false filings with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") in connection with WEE's own application for temporary residence in the United States. WEE falsely represented that he had attended the United Nations International School in Manhattan, and that he attended Huntington High School in Huntington, New York.

WEE is charged with five counts of false statements to federal immigration authorities, and four counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted on these charges, WEE faces a maximum penalty of 33 years in prison.

Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of the FBI in this case.

Assistant United States Attorney PAUL M. KRIEGER is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint and the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.