Second alleged victim says attorney never showed in court

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has heard from another man who said he paid a local attorney to represent him, but the attorney never showed up in court.

This is the second undocumented immigrant to come forward claiming someone in the Roswell attorney's office is taking advantage of them.

This all began with a traffic stop. Nelson Hernandez, 27, said he's out more than a $1,000 and his future is very uncertain.

 Hernandez told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh the case manager promised to file paperwork attempting to cancel his deportation and get him a temporary work permit while they worked on his case.

His case began on Pleasant Hill Road in March 2012. Gwinnett County police arrested the undocumented immigrant during a traffic stop since he was driving without a license.

He showed Kavanaugh his El Salvadoran passport, the only identification he has.

The father of two said he's been in Georgia for seven years and traffic tickets are his only offenses.

Hernandez said he paid $1,000 just to get the case started, plus a receipt for a $185 fee to file some paperwork. But he said the help ended there.

He said he never spoke with the attorney who was three hours late for his January court appearance, then missed another in April. After that, he said the office never returned his calls.

Hernandez is the second undocumented immigrant to make these claims about the same lawyer's office.

As Kavanaugh first reported in May, Ramiro Gonzalez claims he never once saw the face of the attorney he paid more than $1,500 to represent him. He was also fighting deportation after a traffic stop.

He said he too paid the case manager and said the attorney missed two court dates. Now, he has to leave the country by September.

Hernandez told Kavanaugh he believes someone tried to swindle him and he believes he's probably not alone.

Kavanagh reached the attorney over the phone.

He explained he has suffered numerous health issues over the last several months. He said he was very concerned about some of the information we provided him. He said he will review the cases and the dates, and get back to us.

Nelson Hernandez has hired another attorney. His case is still pending before a judge.

WSBTV