After presenting new evidence that implicates José Gregorio Sosa Cardona, the Venezuelan fake lawyer facing immigration fraud before the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois, the prosecution handed the defense a draft plea agreement and urged them to sign it.
The defense requested additional time to review the supporting materials and meet with the defendant to provide a response. The court set a deadline for pre-trial motions to be presented before August 12, 2025; while the government must provide the defendant—with whom it may negotiate—a draft of the plea agreement before August 19, 2025.
Sosa Cardona is being prosecuted because, through his company Delta Global Solutions Inc. based in Chicago, he was processing documents without legal authorization. He is accused of providing services to foreign clients based on false and fraudulent information submitted to U.S. authorities.
These allegedly fraudulent acts took place between 2020 and 2024, when he conspired with two employees of his company and others to illegally process immigration benefits for foreigners seeking legal status in the U.S. through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Court Grants Extension
At the request of the prosecution with no objection from the defense, the deadline has been excluded under Title 18 of the United States Code, Article 3161(h)(7)(A), (B), until October 21, 2025.
The Court believes that the interests of justice pursued with the extension prevail over the public and the defendant’s interests in a speedy trial, the continuity of defense, the completion of evidence discovery review, effective case preparation, and conclusion of any plea negotiations.
The court also established that the defendant and the defense should promptly review the draft of the plea admission and respond to the Government by September 3, 2025.
A hearing is scheduled for October 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., where the parties should be prepared to set a trial date if the matter is not resolved beforehand.
Charges Against José Gregorio Sosa Cardona
Sosa Cardona is facing seven charges for immigration fraud.
On March 6, 2025, a grand jury charged José Gregorio Sosa Cardona with multiple counts, namely:
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) (Charge 1).
- Submission of false documents to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (Charges 2 to 5).
- Using a document with false, fictitious or fraudulent statements (Charge 6).
- Intentional falsification, concealment, and cover-up of a material fact (Charge 7).
Joint Case Status Report
On June 16, 2025, a joint status report was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, outlining the current status of the case between the United States of America and José Gregorio Sosa Cardona.
The report indicates that the court held a hearing on the defendant’s motion to be released from custody, which was postponed. It also notes that a grand jury has presented a new indictment against the defendant and that the initial proposal of a property to secure bail was withdrawn.
Prosecution’s Response to Detention Order Review Request
On May 22, 2025, the prosecution responded to the defendant’s motion to review the detention order. The government reiterated to the court its decision to keep the defendant in custody awaiting trial, citing a “substantial risk of flight.”
On March 10, 2025, the government requested Sosa Cardona’s detention based on the risk of flight and obstruction. On March 12 and 13, 2025, a detention hearing was held, leading to an oral ruling stating that detention was necessary to “reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance.”
To support this decision, the presiding judge argued that the conspiracy is vast and involves “hundreds of fraudulent immigration applications,” as well as forged signatures from law enforcement agents.
Furthermore, Sosa Cardona allegedly “impersonated a lawyer with a fake Ohio lawyer’s card,” even in USCIS offices on at least two occasions.
Evidence of obstruction was presented immediately after the execution of search warrants at the defendant’s business, which included attempts to influence an employee, destroy email account content and a phone, wipe a computer, and instructing an employee to deny knowledge.
The judge concluded that the weight of the evidence supports detention, although this factor was given the “least weight” in his overall analysis. At the same time, he established that Sosa Cardona is “unmonitorable” due to a consistent and extensive pattern of manipulation and deception.
Government’s Arguments for Detention Denial
The government argues that the court must maintain detention based on the “deception and fraud that permeate nearly all personal and professional matters of the defendant, with the consistent purpose of personal gain and evasion of consequences.”
Additionally, his foreign contacts, financial resources, diminishing connections to the United States, and “general character of deceit” present a substantial risk of nonappearance.
The prosecution assumes that even though Sosa Cardona claims to have permanent resident status, this may have been obtained illegally due to a concurrent marriage—he was married to another woman when he married his current wife—making his status “susceptible to adjustment.”
Sosa Cardona lied to USCIS in February 2025 about the existence of his first marriage, despite having obtained a certified summary of that record himself in October 2024.