Chicago Attorney Indicted on Immigration Fraud Charges Involving Visa Petitions

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Visa petitions are supposed to rest on truthful job and employer facts. On Dec. 19, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced that Chicago attorney Gerardo Dean was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly providing false information to U.S. authorities to obtain immigration benefits for foreign-national clients [1].

Status: Indicted. An indictment is only an allegation. Dean is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty [1].

What the indictment alleges

According to the indictment as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. Dean owned a Chicago law office and represented a company that operated skilled-nursing facilities.
2. He allegedly conspired with company employee Felicitas Cordero to file fraudulent H-1B and EB-2 visa petitions for individuals in the Philippines seeking U.S. visas.

The person charged

Gerardo Dean, Chicago, Illinois. Attorney. Indicted on immigration-fraud charges; presumed innocent [1].

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Gerardo Dean, Chicago	U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill.	Indicted Dec. 2024 (announced Dec. 19, 2024) on immigration fraud charges; presumed innocent	[1]

Statuses can change. Charges are allegations.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, “Chicago Attorney Indicted on Immigration Fraud Charges,” Dec. 19, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-attorney-indicted-immigration-fraud-charges-0