A Russian-speaking immigration lawyer in Houston took money from clients but did not handle their cases.

Houston resident Alla Nowowiejski, 44, has been charged with mail fraud and making false statements related to her work as an immigration attorney, according to US Department of Justice. As he writes Houston Chronicle, this scheme could have affected dozens of people.

According to the indictment, Nowowiejski accepted payments from clients for assistance in obtaining or changing their employment status, as well as for submitting work visa applications. She either failed to submit the documents at all or submitted only partial ones.

Nowowiejski was arrested in February of this year on fraud charges. Her actions could have harmed dozens of people.

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According to the Department of Justice, clients hired Nowowiejski in 2024 to help them formalize or change their work status and apply for work visas. However, Nowowiejski either failed to submit applications at all or submitted only partial ones. She also provided clients with documents or reference numbers related to other people's immigration cases, so they believed immigration authorities were processing their applications, authorities allege.

Mail fraud and perjury charges relate to one part of Nowowiejski's alleged scheme. She is also accused of inducing clients to submit unnecessary vaccination records to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and lying about the agency requesting these records.

The indictment doesn't clarify how much Novoveisky received from the two clients. The victims are not named.

Harris County Constable Alan Rosen's office said in February that his agency initiated the investigation and that Nowowiejski had killed more than 100 people.

"Immigrants already face a lot of challenges, and the last thing they want is to be deceived by a lawyer," Rosen said. "We couldn't let that happen, so we stepped in, conducted an investigation, and stopped the defendant from further defrauding this community."

In 2023, Nowowiejski was sued by Houston-based Audubon Engineering Operations, LLC, alleging negligence and legal incompetence. The lawsuit alleged that Nowowiejski lied about the status of immigration documents she maintained for at least five employees.

As in the federal case, the lawsuit accused her of providing clients with false documents to conceal that she had not completed the work.

Audubon sought over $250,000 in damages. Nowowiejski never responded to the lawsuit. In 2024, a default judgment was entered against her for over $300,000.

Nowowiejski's license to practice law was suspended in September 2025 for failure to pay dues to the State Bar of Texas, a bar spokesman said.

Nowowiejski graduated from Texas Southern University in 2009 and began practicing law the same year. Her law firm profile indicates she works for her own law firm, incorporated in 2019.

Nowowiejski appeared in court on September 9.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service, with participation from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Harris County Constable's Office (Precinct 1). Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Carter is prosecuting the case.

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The US Department of Justice has established the National Fraud Enforcement Unit. Its primary mission is to actively identify and prosecute those who embezzle or misappropriate taxpayer funds. The Justice Department's anti-fraud efforts are part of the Donald Trump administration's initiative to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in federal aid programs. This interagency task force is chaired by US Vice President J.D. Vance.

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