WASHINGTON

Domestic violence victims may qualify for U.S. asylum

A government immigration board has determined for the first time that domestic violence victims may be able to qualify for asylum in the United States. The ruling comes in the case of a Guatemalan woman who crossed into the U.S. illegally in 2005 after fleeing her husband.

She said she called local police in Guatemala to report the abuse but was repeatedly told that the authorities would not interfere in her marriage. She argued that the abuse and the lack of police response should make her eligible for asylum.

In the first-of-its kind ruling Tuesday, the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals agreed, at least in part. In the nine-page decision, the appeals board concluded that the unidentified immigrant met at least one criterion for asylum: As a married Guatemalan woman who couldn’t leave her relationship, she was part of a particular social group.

The Homeland Security Department, which prosecutes deportation cases, did not contest the immigrant’s argument. The appeals board sent the case back to an immigration judge.

NEW YORK

Disability consultant admits role in massive fraud scam

An accused ringleader of a sprawling disabilities fraud scheme admitted Wednesday he helped coach retired police officers and others to fake mental-health problems to get Social Security benefits.

Joseph Esposito pleaded guilty to grand larceny in a scam that prosecutors say spanned a quarter-century, involved more than 120 people and netted tens of millions of dollars. The retired officer is the top defendant, at least thus far, to admit guilt in what Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. has called a massive case of “gaming the system,” sometimes through invoking the trauma of Sept. 11.

Esposito’s lawyer, Brian J. Griffin, said his client “acknowledged that in his role as a disability consultant, his actions crossed both an ethical and legal line.

If Esposito, 65, keeps a promise to cooperate with prosecutors, he’ll be sentenced to one to four years in prison and $734,000 in restitution.

Social Security disability benefits are supposed to be for those too psychologically troubled to work. Prosecutors said Esposito and three other men helped former police, firefighters and jail guards lie to meet the benefits’ high bar, taking tens of thousands of dollars in secret kickbacks. The other three have pleaded not guilty.

– From news service reports