Man pleads guilty to fraud for phony asylum claims

A man accused of coaching immigrants on how to make phony asylum claims pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges and agreed to forfeit $1.7 million.

The man, David Lynn, led a ring that prepared 380 asylum applications between 2003 and 2007, charging $8,000 for individuals and $12,000 for couples, prosecutors said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Most of the asylum seekers were from Russia, but prosecutors said some were from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. A few were granted asylum, but …