Miami ( CNN ) -- It sounded like a good deal : Get a Cuban birth certificate and stay in the United States , worry-free . But federal authorities say the birth certificates were n't legitimate , and the undocumented immigrants trying to get them were n't Cuban . Now a federal judge in Florida has sentenced several people for conspiring to commit immigration fraud . The defendants , authorities say , made more than half a million dollars selling forged Cuban birth certificates to undocumented immigrants and helping them fill out fraudulent U.S. immigration forms . Their aim , investigators said , was to exploit a U.S. law that allows Cuban immigrants to apply for permanent residence if they 've been in the United States for more than a year . Authorities arrested Nelson Daniel Silvestri Soutto , Laura Maria Ponce Santos , Amelia Osorio and Fidel Morejon Vega last year . Court documents show that all four have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit immigration fraud . New immigration rules help undocumented families . Court documents provide details about a type of scam that 's becoming increasingly common , immigration lawyers say . In one conversation with a confidential informant recorded by investigators , Morejon demanded thousands of dollars in payment for Cuban birth certificates and provided advice about how to answer questions from immigration authorities who might ask why he has a Mexican accent . `` 'Uh , because I work with a lot of Mexicans and I caught it ( the accent ) ... ' '' period , '' Morejon said , according to a transcript of the conversation filed in federal court . `` You are Cuban ... from today on ... 3:25 in the afternoon you are entering the United States and you are Cuban . '' Morejon advised the informant and an undercover officer not to make conversation with officials , and to tell them they arrived `` in a raft , '' according to the transcript . Investigators describe Morejon as the scheme 's ringleader , accusing him of recruiting the others and paying them referral fees for each undocumented immigrant who purchased his services . Opinion : Solve immigration without a quick path to citizenship . He `` met with numerous illegal aliens and told them that he could assist them in obtaining their residency in the United States by pretending to be Cuban , '' according to a court document filed along with Morejon 's guilty plea agreement last year . `` To effectuate the fraud , Morejon posed as an immigration officer to impress the illegal aliens ( and ) also threatened some of the illegal aliens with deportation , '' the document said . The day authorities arrested him , they found blank Cuban birth certificates and altered naturalization certificates in his Florida home , federal prosecutors said in a memo filed this month . In addition to selling fake Cuban birth certificates , Morejon also sold fraudulent presidential pardons , prosecutors said . Morejon , of Kissimmee , Florida , is scheduled to be sentenced later this month . Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence him to more than three years in prison . `` The full extent of Morejon 's fraud remains unknown as his former customers continue to be identified by the government , '' prosecutors said . `` The one conclusion that must be drawn from all the facts is that Morejon devoted his life , over a period of more than three and a half years , to extracting as much money as possible from his customers and obtaining that money by whatever means necessary . '' U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Ponce earlier this month to six months in prison , two years on parole and nine months under house arrest . Osorio was sentenced Thursday to four months in prison , two years of parole and 11 months under house arrest . And Silvestri was sentenced to a year in prison , three years on parole and nine months under house arrest . Morejon pleaded guilty `` and acknowledged he was the organizer , '' said Hugo Rodriguez , an attorney representing Morejon . That means he 'll likely receive a higher sentence , Rodriguez said . Attorney Richard Serafini , who represents Osorio , declined to comment but referred to a memo he filed in court earlier this month , arguing for a lower sentence . The memo argues that Osorio , 61 , paid Morejon thousands of dollars for a fraudulent presidential pardon for her son , who had been convicted of a federal drug offense . She became involved in the conspiracy `` through her efforts to help her son '' and her criminal conduct was an `` extreme aberration , '' Serafini wrote . `` Her background is one of hard work , dedication to her family and , until this episode , law-abiding , '' the memo said . Attorneys for Ponce and Silvestri did not respond to requests for comment . This type of scam has been happening in Florida for years but appears to be on the rise , immigration attorney Wilfredo Allen said . There are consequences beyond this particular case , according to Maite Hoyos , an immigration attorney in Miami . More and more , she said , authorities are asking her Cuban clients to prove the validity of their birth certificates -- something , she says , that suggests that this type of fraud is on investigators ' radar . Adriana Hauser reported from Miami . Catherine E. Shoichet wrote the story in Atlanta .
Prosecutors : Scammers made $ 500,000 selling fake Cuban birth certificates . The scheme aimed to use a Ponce law that allows Cuban to apply for residency . `` You are Cubans from more than three years on , '' the plot 's alleged ringleader tells more than three and a half client .