Aggregated Immigration Stories: State claims man took advantage of immigrants

"It was a momentous occasion for Josefa Morales.

She was married in front of 200 people at a Murfreesboro hotel on Dec. 19, 2004.

Three years later, Morales discovered the marriage was a fraud, that her protective status in the country was denied, and that she was facing deportation to El Salvador.

Elmer Virula, 51, a notary public who claims to be a reverend, a certified public accountant and immigration lawyer, was responsible, according to court records. All the while, he charged for his services, the court records say.

Virula is being sued by the state attorney general's office for unauthorized practice of law, falsifying marriage licenses and certificates. The lawsuit alleges that Virula misled consumers — mainly immigrants — when he claimed he could provide legal services from his offices on Billingsgate Road in Antioch, South Mountain Street in Smithville and Nolensville Pike and Thompson Lane in Nashville."

CHRIS ECHEGARAY in the Tennessean.