RENO, Nev. - A Reno attorney was sentenced today to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine for his guilty plea to a felony immigration crime, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Robert J. Fry, 63, of Reno, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks. Fry pleaded guilty in April to one count of harboring an alien.
“A lawyer has an obligation to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct," said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “When the lawyer fails to do so, respect and confidence in the law can be destroyed. It is therefore important that we use our federal resources to investigate and prosecute persons who compromise the profession and our laws."
Fry and co-defendant Nelia Bayani, aka Nelia Ramirez, were originally indicted on May 30, 2012, and charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, harboring an alien, marriage fraud and wire fraud. According to the indictment, Bayani, a citizen of the Phillipines, was involved in a romantic relationship with Fry. Bayani, with the assistance of Fry entered into a fraudulent marriage with an American citizen so that Bayani, who had overstayed her visitor’s visa, could lawfully remain in the United States.
Bayani pleaded guilty in April 2013 to the misdemeanor offense of avoidance of examination or inspection of an alien, and was sentenced on Sept. 10, 2013, to five years of probation and 200 hours of community work service.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan Rachow.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
