SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against a Seattle business owner for preying on new immigrants by making deceptive promises to help them with legal assistance for immigration needs then later abandoning them in courtrooms after charging thousands of dollars.

Ana Nascimento targets Portuguese-speaking immigrants from Brazil. She is not a licensed attorney in Washington state nor does she have an education in the law.

According to complaints, Nascimento tells families she will represent them in immigration courts, but she has never appeared in any courts because she is not an attorney. When families ask for their money back, Nascimento refuses or delays. Most people agreed to pay her between a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.