Grandview firm agrees to AG's terms in notario case

A Grandview firm has agreed to stop providing unlicensed immigration services to customers under a consent decree with the state.

The agreement between Maria Gloria Mendoza, owner of GMC Training Institute, and the state Attorney General's Office requires her to pay $2,500 to cover legal costs in the case.

The remaining portion of a $30,000 penalty was suspended, but will become due if the company violates the settlement by providing unapproved services.

According to the state's investigation, GMC Training portrayed itself as a provider of legal and clerical services for more than 290 immigration applicants between 2001 and 2008.

However, the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division alleged that Mendoza and her company were not certified to provide those services.

Mendoza on Tuesday declined to comment about the settlement, which does not require her to admit liability. Her company provides training classes, among other services, according to the state's lawsuit.

The attorney general's office in recent years has cracked down on the immigration-assistance industry, saying that customers can be ripped off by providers who don't have the necessary legal training.

Several cases remain under investigation across the state, including in Yakima County, said Pedro Bernal, the assistant attorney general who handled the Mendoza matter.

Gov. Christine Gregoire this year signed into law a bill that allows customers of immigration consultants to recover their costs if they were provided with illegal services.

Under the law, which goes into effect this fall, immigration consultants who are not lawyers are prohibited from advertising themselves as notarios, a term often used in Spanish-speaking countries to indicate that the provider is trained as a lawyer.