McKenna
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna says a Blaine, Wash.-based immigration advisor has agreed to change his business practices and pay legal costs in response to a civil suit.
Former federal immigration officer Jason Ankeny will pay $3,000 in state legal costs after he allegedly violated the state's Consumer Protection Act. In signing a consent decree, Ankeny did not admit or deny wrongdoing, the Bellingham Herald reports.
McKenna alleged that from 2007 to 2010, Ankeny's company, GetUsImmigrationHelp.com, provided assistance to a number of people, filling out immigration forms and writing letters on their behalf for submission to immigration authorities despite Ankeny not being licensed to practice law or otherwise authorized to represent others in immigration matters.
The complaint alleged that Ankeny's website and advertisements led potential customers to believe he possessed "special professional skills" and that was "an unfair and deceptive practice," according to the Bellingham Herald.
Ankeny has been ordered to dissolve his company and surrender his registration as an immigration assistant, the report says.
A civil penalty of $10,000 levied against Ankeny was suspended on condition that he comply with the conditions in the consent decree, the Bellingham Herald reports.