Felony fraud reduced to a misdemeanor, green card unaffected
CASE SUMMARY
Adaptation note: This story is adapted from similar matters handled by Lingtu Law and its peers. Names, places, dates and amounts have been changed, and the outcomes are presented as scenarios only. They do not reflect that similar cases will reach the same result.
Background
Q, a green card holder, had worked at a nail salon in Los Angeles County for more than ten years. When the salon closed in 2020, she applied for unemployment benefits. Later the salon called her back for a few days here and there. Believing she could keep collecting until she was back full time, she kept checking "did not work" online every two weeks. Years later a state audit flagged the claims, and in summer 2025 prosecutors charged her with felony fraud, listing about $28,000.
She admitted she had been overpaid. But a fraud conviction involving more than $10,000 can lead directly to deportation for a green card holder.
Strategy
We started by checking the amount. Matching her bank statements against the salon's payroll records week by week, for records five years old, took four months. In many weeks she had not worked a single day, so those benefits were properly paid. The actual overpayment was about $13,000.
Q borrowed from relatives and repaid the full $13,000 to the state before entering any plea, and wrote a letter explaining that she had not understood the rules at the time.
The prosecutor first had the state review our reconciliation. After several rounds, in summer 2026 they agreed to reduce the felony fraud charge to one misdemeanor, a different offense that would not be a ground for removal for someone who had held a green card for more than ten years, with no loss amount stated in the plea.
Case Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 2020 | Salon closed; Q began receiving unemployment benefits |
| July 2025 | Charged with felony fraud, about $28,000 |
| August 2025 | Retained Lingtu Law; pleaded not guilty; week-by-week reconciliation began |
| December 2025 | Reconciliation completed; actual overpayment about $13,000 |
| February 2026 | Q repaid the overpayment in full |
| Late July 2026 | Prosecutor agreed to one misdemeanor and Q entered a plea; sentenced to probation in early September |
Outcome
Q pleaded to the single misdemeanor in late July and was sentenced in early September to probation with no jail time; the money already repaid counted as restitution. Her green card status was not affected. After probation she can apply to have the record dismissed.