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An indictment returned by a federal grand jury says 29-year-old Patricia De Oliveira Souza Lelis Bolin, of Arlington, posed as an immigration lawyer to help foreign clients obtain E-2 and EB-5 visas to the United States.
The EB-5 program provides lawful permanent residency, and possible citizenship, if a foreign national invests substantial funds—typically, a minimum of $1 million—in qualifying job-creating enterprises in the United States.
Lelis Bolin addressed the federal claims on X, saying (in her native language):
"Dear diary, I started 2024 being 'wanted' by the FBI even though the government knew that I was in political asylum in another country. My crime: I took documents from some naughty Americans who asked me to be a scapegoat against mine and I stuck my foot in them. Good luck, USA, and always count on me to be against the North American government. 🥰"
Lelis Bolin allegedly sent a legal retainer agreement to a victim for help in obtaining EB-5 visas for the their parents on Sept. 22, 2021, according to the indictment released by the office of Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The victim made two initial payments totaling over $135,000 based on Lelis Bolin’s representation that the money was going into a Texas real estate development project that qualified for the EB-5 program.
Instead, the victim’s money went into Lelis Bolin’s personal bank account.
Rather than investing the money as promised, Lelis Bolin spent the money on a downpayment on her Arlington townhouse, bathroom renovations, and paying other personal expenses, such as credit card debt.
Lelis Bolin covered it up by giving the victim a bogus U.S. District Court pleading, complete with a false case number showing her as the litigating attorney, the indictment says.
Lelis Bolin is not a licensed attorney. She is also alleged to have falsified U.S. immigration forms, forged multiple signatures, and created fake receipts from the Texas investment project, all of which she emailed to a victim, federal officials said.
Lelis Bolin also created false personas associated with the Texas investment fund and sent emails from those individuals to try to obtain even more money. The indictment alleges she talked friends into posing as employees of the Texas investment fund in phone calls and video calls with a victim. When a victim finally refused to send her any more money, Lelis Bolin allegedly threatened the victim’s parents with removal from the United States and then referred them to a collections agency.
Lelis Bolin is charged with wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, and aggravated identity theft.
Lelis Bolin has 235.6K followers on Twitter, 462K followers on Instagram, and 43.1K followers on TikTok. Her Instagram bio says: "I work and talk about politics, because everything is political."
As of press time, Lelis Bolin was not in law enforcement custody. If any members of the public have information regarding the whereabouts of Lelis Bolin, they are encouraged to contact the FBI’s Washington Field Office at (202) 278-2000 or the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Information may also be submitted online using FBI’s electronic tips form at https://tips.fbi.gov.
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