Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced today that a lawsuit has been filed against Paul A. Esquivel, Paul A. Esquivel, PLLC, Paul Esquivel, PC, JCP Law Firm and Associates, PLLC, JCP Law Office, PC, its owner Olvia Martinez, and attorney Juan Carlos Penaflor for engaging in misleading and deceptive acts by routinely making misrepresentations and failing to make disclosures to consumers seeking immigration services. The State’s petition, filed in Bexar County District Court on September 21, 2015, charges Defendants with violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade and Practices Act (DTPA) and the Texas Business Organizations Code.

The State’s allegations in the lawsuit are that Paul A. Esquivel, a recently disbarred immigration attorney, with offices in San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, and those employed under his direction, had been misleading consumers to believe they were eligible to apply for asylum relief to induce consumers to pay Esquivel thousands of dollars.  In reality, the consumers were not eligible under U.S. asylum laws. Esquivel failed to explain or disclose risks associated with asylum, causing irreparable harm to consumers’ immigration cases.  Furthermore, unbeknownst to the consumers, Esquivel submitted immigration applications to the U.S. government which contained false information.

The State’s investigation revealed that Esquivel sought asylum on behalf of the majority of his clients even though he was retained for other immigration services. In one instance, a man who is married to a U.S. citizen hired Esquivel to process his legal status based on his wife’s status, but this client was led to believe his only recourse was to file an application for asylum.  Esquivel failed to tell this client and other clients that placing false information on an asylum application may subject them to civil and criminal penalties, and that knowingly filing a frivolous application shall render the applicants permanently ineligible for citizenship.

According to investigators, Esquivel knowingly sold his law firms to his office manager Olvia Martinez, who is not an attorney. Martinez renamed the firms JCP Law Firm and Associates, PLLC and JCP Law Office, PC.  Under the Texas Business Organizations Code, Martinez is prohibited from owning a professional entity unless she is a professional, an attorney, in this case.  Additionally, attorney Juan Carlos Penaflor, who worked for Esquivel prior to the sale of the firms, purports to be the owner of the new firms and, thus, misrepresents to consumers that the law firm is owned by an attorney in violation of the State’s consumer laws.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit is seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against defendants and civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation.

View a copy of the lawsuit