From “Super Lawyer” to Admitting to Scamming Immigrants — The Demise of One of Rhode Island’s Star Attorneys

From “Super Lawyer” to Admitting to Scamming Immigrants — The Demise of One of Rhode Island’s Star Attorneys

U.S. Department of Justice documents posted to the federal court portal reveal that Joseph Molina Flynn has agreed to plead guilty to a range of federal crimes.

In January of 2025, GoLocal exclusively broke the story that the FBI raided the penthouse offices of the prominent attorney.

Molina Flynn, who came to the country as an undocumented immigrant, has been rated as a "SuperLawyers - Rising Star" for multiple years, and Boston Magazine named him a top lawyer for immigration.

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He was rocketing. He had offices in Providence and Boston.

He served as a judge in the City of Central Falls and chaired the board of the Wyatt Detention Center.

Molina Flynn has also served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University.

He was prominent in Hispanic politics. He was a regular guest on GoLocal LIVE, where he discussed immigration and political issues. 

 

He Lived Big

His life was good. He flew around the country to see J-Lo's concert and scored backstage passes.

Molina Flynn, who was born in Colombia, purchased a million-plus home in East Greenwich and drove a Maserati.

He was on a mission. His professional bio states, “His mother and grandmother (always his North Star) said that he should be ‘the people’s lawyer,’ but that was a far away dream for young boy living in war-torn Colombia. His dream of fighting for justice was only emblazoned when the guerrillas knocked on his door to announce that they had killed his beloved uncle. How can a young boy make sense of such evil nonsense. How can he and his family ever get over such a trauma?”

But between being the 'people's lawyer' and the J-Lo concerts, something went wrong.

Now, Molina Flynn is pleading guilty to having taken about $100,000 in legal fees from individuals seeking legal assistance with their immigration status, and he, de facto, failed to do any legal work.

 

Plea Agreement With the Justice Department

Molina Flynn must sell his East Greenwich home and pay hundreds of thousands in restitution.

The parties agree that the defendant owes restitution to the victims of Count One in the total amount of at least $83,265, and owes restitution to the U.S. Treasury, the victim of Count Two, in the amount of at least $550,000, the exact amount to be determined at sentencing. The parties further agree that the defendant's residence which is the subject of an in rem civil forfeiture, Civil Action No. 25-cv-45-MRD-AEM, shall be sold with net proceeds from the sale of that residence apportioned and applied as follows in the following order:

(i) $83,265 of the net proceeds from the sale of that residence shall be applied to the defendant's restitution obligations to the victims of Count One.

(ii) $100,000 of the net proceeds from the sale of that residence shall not be subject to forfeiture and shall be returned to Defendant.

(iii) Any remainder of the net proceeds from the sale of the residence beyond the $183,265 as set forth in (i) and (ii) above, shall be applied to Defendant's restitution obligations to U.S. Treasury.

Molina Flynn agrees as part of the plea agreement:

The United States and Defendant stipulate and agree to the following facts under the guidelines:

a. Under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1, the parties agree to recommend to the Court at sentencing that loss from Defendant's wire fraud scheme is at least $95,000, but less than $150,000.

b. Under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3, the parties agree to recommend to the Court at sentencing that the Defendant receive a 2-level adjustment for abuse of position of trust.

c. Under U.S.S.G. §§ 2T1.1 and 2T4.1, the parties agree to recommend to the Court at sentencing that the tax loss from Defendant's tax evasion is at least $550,000, but less than $1,500,000.

d. Under U.S.S.G. § 2T1.1(b)(1), the parties agree to recommend to the Court at sentencing that the Defendant receive a 2-level adjustment for failing to report income exceeding $10,000 in any year from criminal activity.

Molina Flynn was facing the potential of 25 years.