Central Coast Woman Arrested on Complaint Alleging She Created Hundreds of Bogus Medical Documents for Immigration Applicants

LOS ANGELES – A San Luis Obispo County woman has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging she created hundreds of fraudulent immigration documents by misusing physicians’ credentials to show compliance with medical examination requirements for immigrants to register for green cards or otherwise adjust their immigration status, the Justice Department announced today.

Chantelle Lavergne Woods, 54, of Nipomo, is charged with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Woods was arrested on Wednesday made her initial appearance Thursday in United States District Court and a federal magistrate judge ordered her released on $10,000 bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for March 25.

“The fraudulent conduct described in the criminal complaint undermined the integrity of our nation’s immigration system,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “We commend our law enforcement partners for putting a stop to it.”

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires the submission of a medical examination and vaccination record that assess several physical and mental health factors to determine an applicant’s legal status. Federal law requires licensed physicians – or “civil surgeons” – to perform these examinations. 

According to an affidavit filed on February 18 with the complaint, from February 2021 to April 2024, Woods, while operating an Arroyo Grande medical clinic, created hundreds of fraudulent documents pertaining to medical examination and vaccination requirements for individuals seeking to register for a lawful permanent resident (LPR) card – commonly known as a “green card” – or otherwise adjust their immigration status.

Woods allegedly maintained a website that advertised itself as a “Medical Weight Loss and Immigration Services” clinic that, in part, purported to help applicants with immigration physicals. One of the doctors listed on that website as an “M.D. Board Certified Neurologist and Designated Civil Surgeon for USCIS” was in fact, according to the California Medical Board website, a pediatrician, not a neurologist.

She allegedly forged several doctors’ signatures – including one doctor who died before Woods prepared the fraudulent immigration forms. 

A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Ventura Resident Office Tactical Diversion Squad and USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Elia Herrera of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section and Mark Aveis of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.