A Seattle man who duped illegal immigrants in Hawai'i and Washington into believing that he had the power to circumvent immigration law, bilking more than $20,000 from them in the process, was sentenced to more than three years in prison last week.

Toma Lelea, 40, was sentenced to 41 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution for wire, mail and Social Security fraud, and theft of public money, according to a news release.

"Unfortunately, a ruse like this undermines the confidence people have in their government and in law enforcement," said Wayne K. Wills, special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, office in Hawai'i. "ICE will continue to aggressively pursue those who prey upon and exploit vulnerable members of the immigrant community in the interest of lining their own pockets."

In addition, Lelea also stole $29,735.30 from the Social Security Administration in the form of forged disability claims despite earning $170,000 in income from various employment and land ownership in Washington, Samoa and Hawai'i.

Lelea also told illegal immigrants, at least a dozen of whom were located in Hawai'i, that he could "fix" their immigration status. Between March 2002 and March 2006, Lelea cashed 15 money orders from illegal immigrants in sums ranging from $100 to $875.

According to an indictment filed in U.S. district court, between January 2001 and December 2006, Lelea represented himself to foreign nationals as a government agent who had "special influence" over the U.S. immigration process. He told illegal immigrants he could change their immigration status for a fee, court documents show.

Despite never having worked for the U.S. government, Lelea would display badges or clothing indicating that he worked for ICE, the FBI, or U.S. Marshals Service and carried a 9 mm Glock handgun, according to court documents.

Lelea accepted more than $19,000 in fees from some 20 victims who thought they were receiving legitimate assistance.

Lelea would meet with clients and pretend to look up their immigration status on a computer. He would have his "clients" fill out fake immigration forms and send them to legitimate processing centers in Washington and Missouri, court documents show. The forms would come back rejected, and the clients would go to Lelea for help. Lelea would then tell the clients he could fix the problem for cash, according to court documents.

The charges against Lelea in Washington state included defrauding government agencies by claiming Social Security Supplemental Security Income benefits and Section 8 housing assistance. While he purported to be poor and disabled, Lelea owned property in Western Samoa and possessed bank accounts containing "significant" amounts of money, according to an ICE news release.

The sentence is the result of an investigation by ICE with assistance from the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Lelea pleaded guilty in August to 19 criminal counts contained in the Hawai'i indictment and to two charges filed by information in the Western District of Washington.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.