Immigration Attorney Sentenced To 6 Years After Betrayal Of Clients
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- An attorney from Boulder whose clients were seeking a path to the American dream of citizenship will spend six years in prison after committing what the judge called an "unremarkable betrayal."
Emily Cohen was convicted on 13 of 21 counts of felony theft in December 2014. Over the past month Cohen has continually delayed or not shown up to her sentencing hearings.
On Friday, Cohen was in a blue Boulder County Jail jumpsuit with her wrists cuffed to her waist after a warrant was issued for her failure to appear.
"We were frustrated by many of the delays in the case and are just glad it's over at this point," said Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett.
Cohen had dozens of clients who were seeking to improve their immigration status either through gaining citizenship or visas. She was paid upwards of $100,000 but never provided any legal help to the victims.
"The amounts stolen from the various victims varied from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars," Garnett said. "Our society trusts lawyers and gives lawyers a lot of authority and a lot of opportunity to work with people. The community needs to know that lawyers can be trusted and if they violated that they will be prosecuted."
In court Garnett urged Judge Andrew Hartman to impose a recommended six-year prison term, saying the rule of law needed to be upheld. He said victims have been terrified and that Cohen hasn't ever owned up to her crimes.
"The victims in this case in the immigrant community in Boulder County is a very complex community and all of them were taken advantage of by Ms. Cohen," Garnett said.
Cohen apologized in court and admitted she's not a very good lawyer.
Judge Hartman said as he handed down the sentence that he was surprised by the "breathtaking scope of her theft" and agreed that she never showed remorse for her crimes.
