A Downers Grove man who ran what looked like a one-stop shop for immigration help is heading to federal prison for nine years, after admitting he faked asylum paperwork, posed as an attorney and possessed child pornography, along with cheating on his taxes. Prosecutors say 41-year-old Jose Gregorio Sosa Cardona used his company to churn out bogus documents to back clients' asylum claims and that a 2024 search of his devices turned up thousands of sexually explicit images of minors.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Sosa Cardona operated a business called Delta Global Solutions Inc. and, from 2020 to 2024, conspired with others to submit false information to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prosecutors say he fabricated foreign law enforcement reports and political party membership letters to prop up questionable asylum stories.
He also told both paying clients and immigration officials that he was a licensed attorney, according to the same office, even though he was not. The fabricated records were then used as supporting evidence in immigration filings for multiple foreign national clients, federal authorities say.
Child-exploitation evidence and tax losses
A court-authorized search of Sosa Cardona's electronic devices in 2024 uncovered roughly 2,877 photos and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as reported by CBS Chicago. That discovery added a starkly different, and far darker, layer to what had started as an immigration-fraud investigation.
Prosecutors also say Sosa Cardona filed fraudulent individual tax returns and failed to turn over payroll taxes that had been withheld from employees between 2020 and 2023. The IRS was shorted about $316,000, according to federal authorities, leading to tax charges on top of the immigration-fraud and child-pornography counts.
Sentencing and federal response
Sosa Cardona pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count each of conspiracy to defraud the United States, possession of child pornography and tax fraud. U.S. District Judge Sunil R. Harjani sentenced him to nine years in prison at a hearing on Thursday, May 7.
Federal prosecutors and law enforcement partners jointly announced the sentence and investigation, crediting Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assisting the case. The Department of Justice linked the prosecution to broader anti-fraud efforts, including the recently created National Fraud Enforcement Division, signaling that immigration-related scams remain on Washington's radar.
Case history and local coverage
The case first drew public attention when an indictment was unsealed in March 2025. Local outlets covered the initial charges and detailed the allegations that Sosa Cardona fabricated documents for clients. Reports on the March immigration-fraud indictment and in area papers outlined the counts, the potential statutory penalties and the claim that multiple immigration applications were propped up with false statements to USCIS.
What this means for clients and the community
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has said it works with law enforcement on immigration-fraud investigations and regularly warns applicants to stick with accredited representatives, not unlicensed consultants who advertise legal-style services. Per a USCIS news release, anyone who used Sosa Cardona's services and is unsure about their paperwork is encouraged to contact a licensed attorney or accredited representative to review their case.
The sentencing underscores how aggressively federal authorities are willing to pursue people who market immigration help without proper credentials. It also leaves a cloud over affected clients, whose pending applications may now face extra scrutiny because of the fraud tied to their filings.
