Merrillville attorney accused of trying to start sexual relationship with client
Merrillville attorney Alfredo Estrada could face state disciplinary action due to a complaint filed by a former client who alleges that he tried to pursue a sexual relationship with her.
Estrada, who represents immigration clients at the Burke Costanza & Carberry LLP firm and serves as Griffith's town attorney, is charged with violating multiple professional conduct rules by trying to coerce the girl to have sex with him and providing her money unrelated to covering litigation costs.
In a verified complaint filed on March 25, the Disciplinary Commission said Estrada met the girl, who was under 18 at the time, in 2018 when her father was attempting to obtain a U-Visa, which provides victims of certain crimes a non-immigrant visa if they cooperate with law enforcement. U-Visa recipients can apply for permanent residence status after three years, and Estrada filed a petition for a U-Visa for the man and his daughter in February 2019. The girl accompanied her father to appointments and became the family's primary contact with Estrada, the complaint stated.
The girl signed an agreement with Estrada to pursue relief under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in March 2021, but in May of that year, Estrada's office determined she was not eligible due to her arrival date.
The complaint stated that Estrada and the girl communicated on a variety of issues, including work authorizations, updates on the pending U-Visa, employment issues, the possibility of her brother sponsoring them, paperwork, and documents from the IRS between December 2020 and Estrada's termination in mid-2023.
The tenor of his messages to the girl changed in January 2023, when Estrada called and texted the girl to discuss employment options and asked her to meet him for a meal. She responded two days later that she didn't want to because Estrada is married, the complaint stated.
He offered her opportunities to do translation work for him over the phone and in Union City, Indiana, but she declined to travel to Union City with him.
Between January and May of 2023, Estrada and the girl communicated multiple times about finding her employment, including possibly cleaning his home, records state. He also offered to intervene with her former employer to get payment for the hours she worked.
On May 4, 2023, she recorded a phone conversation with Estrada, where he said he wanted to get together with her and 'skip the games.' He said he would take care of her, and she would take care of him, the complaint stated. She asked what Estrada wanted from her and he responded that he wanted everything, including to have sex with her and become her sugar daddy.
After the conversation, Estrada left her a message about work authorizations, records state. He said he provided her with various amounts of money to use for such things as concerts, restaurants and nail care.
The girl met with a new attorney on June 26, 2023, and Estrada was terminated as her attorney.
A hearing officer, attorney Clayton Miller, was named April 1 to hear the matter before any discipline, like a suspension, is handed down by the Indiana Supreme Court.
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