A Polish woman from California organized a ring of deception to dupe immigrants, mostly Filipino and Korean. She claimed to be a CIA officer, a federal judge, and an immigration lawyer, depending on the circumstances. She took care of the whole procedure, from filling out immigration applications to celebrating the naturalization ceremony – which included setting up a bogus naturalization ceremony. She collected money to put things on the right track. She was sentenced to 10 years and a month in prison on Tuesday.

Operation "Charade"

Malgorzata Bugajska, a 52-year-old Polish woman from Los Angeles, knew how much immigrants wished to legalize their status in the United States and how much they were willing to pay for it. She got her own U.S. papers through a crook, by assuming the identity of a girl who died in 1943. She acquired a passport and a California driver's license in the name of the dead person. With her new identity she was ready for action.

The gang are all here

She could not achieve her mission alone. She contacted 39-year-old Lorena Garcia, an employee of the Social Security Administration, who issued Social Security numbers to immigrants. Next Bugajska found an accomplice in 56-year-old John Bradley. A former mechanic, he played the role of the judge and presided over the naturalization ceremonies. Another person, 62-year-old Yolanda Miel Lubiano, was supposed to get customers, mostly from Filipino and Korean communities. They were set to go.

Nice and easy

When confronting inquisitive clients, Bugajska explained that as an ex-CIA agent turned federal judge, she had legal means to shortcut normal naturalization procedures. She offered a simplified and fast track version. True, every case she took up was decided quickly and positively; the only requirement was paying an extra fee for the extra-fast service. The cost for Bugajska’s services ran up to several thousand dollars.

She would test her clients on their knowledge of U.S. history, fingerprint the applicants and finally organize the oath ceremony. Bradley, dressed in a black robe, officiated the swearing in of the new citizens. The immigrant clients repeated the oath and left the room with a naturalization certificate in their hand.

God was good

Most of Bugajska’s victims believed everything was legitimate. One woman said to Bradley: "God sent you. You are the answer to my prayers." She did not realize that it was Bugajska who had sent Bradley, paying him $5,000 for the masquerade. But the deceit did not stop with the clients: Bradley’s check bounced.

When some of the people getting services from Bugajska became suspicious, they went directly to the immigration offices to enquire about their status. When the immigration official could find no record of their cases on file, it was then they learned that they had been duped. After a year of investigating "Operation Charade," all four people involved were arrested.

She was popular

Bugajska's quick, easy and reliable service was very popular among immigrants, even though it was not cheap. Prosecutors suspect she milked at least $750,000 from her clients, but it is hard to say for sure how many people she cheated – she claimed she had only 25 clients.