Houston immigration attorney says scammers altered her photos with AI to pose as her office; a woman says her family lost about $11,000 (KHOU report)

The impersonation. KHOU (reporter Anayeli Ruiz, published on Yahoo News with an update timestamp of 7 October 2026, 03:28 UTC) reports that a southwest Houston immigration attorney says people are stealing her photographs, using artificial intelligence to alter the images and impersonating her office. According to the report, the people posing as attorneys used her name and photos on social media and altered the images to make them appear connected to other people posing as attorneys; she says the images have been used on Facebook and Instagram, with her image placed next to someone else's image.

The people who paid. The attorney says her firm has recently received calls from people who say they paid money to someone impersonating her or her office, that some believed they were working with legitimate attorneys, and that she knows of more than 20 people who may have been targeted. She describes the targets as people in vulnerable immigration situations. She also said she is concerned about the impact on her reputation, because people who do not contact her actual office may mistakenly believe she took their money and failed to provide legal services.

One woman's account. A woman who said she paid money to someone she believed was legitimate spoke to KHOU by phone without her identity revealed. She said she was promised a permit to stay in the United States within a month, that her husband paid the money, and that the couple attended what they believed were meetings with immigration agents. She said her family lost about $11,000 and that the experience left her feeling angry and helpless. She said she later looked into the situation and discovered that the photo was fake and had been made with artificial intelligence, and that the images were connected to the Houston law office.

Expert comment. The report quotes the chief executive of an identity-verification company saying it can be difficult for an individual to determine whether an image has been created or altered with AI.

What is not established. KHOU reports that people who say they lost money reported the alleged scheme to the Houston Police Department and that HPD said the case will be assigned to an investigator; no arrest, charge or platform action is reported. The AI alteration is described by the attorney and the deceived woman; no image was examined by an investigator or the outlet, and the tool is not identified. The dates of the impersonation and of the payments are not stated. The woman's location is not stated.

According to the attorney and a woman interviewed by KHOU, AI-altered photographs of the attorney were used to pose as her office; the woman says her family lost about $11,000 after paying the impersonators and that she felt angry and helpless; the attorney says more than 20 people may have been targeted and that her name and images were used and that she fears people will believe she took their money.

KHOU reports the attorney's warning and the interviewed woman's account, and that people who say they lost money reported the alleged scheme to the Houston Police Department, which said the case will be assigned to an investigator. No criminal charge, civil action or platform takedown is reported.