A lawyer accused of running a massive immigration fraud is awaiting extradition from Canada following his arrest Tuesday in Toronto. Earl Seth David, who was suspended from practice in New York in 2004, fled to Canada in 2006 because he allegedly feared apprehension, and he continued running his Wall Street law firm, Earl. S. David, from that country until early 2009, federal prosecutors charge.
Mr. David, also known as Rabbi Avraham David, was one of 12 people charged in a scheme that allegedly generated millions of dollars and involved a corrupt Department of Labor employee. According to the indictment and a release from Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Mr. David and his firm received up to $30,000 per illegal alien and obtained thousands of Labor Department certifications based on fabricated employment sponsorships and fake pay stubs, tax returns and “experience letters” that supposedly showed the sponsorships were valid and that the aliens had special employment skills warranting their entry into the United States. Between 1996 and 2009, the government estimates, at least 25,000 immigration applications were submitted by Mr. David’s law offices in Manhattan, and the vast majority are believed to have contained fictitious information.
