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Beverly Hills Attorney Loses Appeal in FOIA Dispute
Ninth Circuit Says DEA Was Justified in Invoking Privacy Exemption
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Friday that the government properly invoked a “privacy” exemption in the public disclosure statute when it denied a Beverly Hills attorney’s request for all records relating to a man who entered the U.S. as an immigrant and who, the plaintiff insists, has committed criminal acts that should have barred the granting of citizenship.
A panel—comprised of Judges Ronald M. Gould, Lucy H. Koh, and Kim Wardlaw—concluded that “Exemption 6” in the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) justifies the withholding by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) of the alien file, or “A-File,” of Hrabar Todorov, referred to by the judges, except in one place, as “H.T.” The exemption applies to “personnel and medical files and similar files” when the disclosure “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
If it is true, as alleged in the complaint, that Todorov entered into a void marriage with his first cousin solely for purpose of obtaining a green card, the opinion says, records relating to the matter could be of “embarrassment.”
Popov’s Pleading
The plaintiff is Peter Popov, an immigration attorney who has been in practice for nearly 30 years. He said in his Oct. 25, 2023 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking declaratory and injunctive relief (with paragraph numbering omitted):
“The record of Hrabar TODOROV will expose the gross misconduct and criminal negligence of DHS in performing its duties to administer and enforce the immigration law….
“While this case focuses on the issue whether the public interest in the record outweighs the subject privacy interest, it cannot be separated from its broader context. The press and Congressional hearing rooms are replete with detailed accusations that DHS is deliberately refusing to enforce the Country’s immigration laws and is responsible for the current crisis at the border.”
Allegations of Crimes
Popov alleged:
“The life of Hrabar TODOROV is full of drug dealings, false lax returns, fraudulent and void marriage through which he obtained a green card and later U.S. Citizenship….And all these criminal acts were not only completely undetected by the DHS for a period of more than seven years but the Agency, instead of arresting and prosecuting him, rewarded him with all benefits available under its authority. This shows that our immigration system is broken and the only way to be fixed is by exposing it to the public which is the main purpose of this FOIA request.”
He added:
“A release of Hrabar TODOROV’s immigration files will disclose straight from the face of the record his cheatings regarding his employment as a cannabis grower, his void marriage fraud with his first cousin and also DHS direct culpability in not detecting and omitting all these material facts which would have rendered Hrabar TODOROV an excludable alien.”
According to the complaint: Todorov wed his first cousin in Las Vegas—notwithstanding that such a marriage is unlawful under Nevada’s incest laws—the purpose being to obtain a green card; a phony address in West Los Angeles was used on immigration papers; they did not live together and Todorov was actually residing with his then-girlfriend; after Todorov obtained a permanent green card, the cousin filed for divorce.
The pleading sets forth that Todorov and his cousin, after the divorce, purchased a house in Sherman Oaks, which is co-owned by his present wife. He married the then-Petra Aleksandrova on April 6, 2022, six days after becoming a U.S. citizen, the pleading sets forth.
The wife, now known as Petya I. Hrabar, is an attorney with the downtown Los Angeles law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP.
Ninth Circuit Opinion
Friday’s opinion affirms a summary judgment in favor of the DEA granted by District Court Judge André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California. The panel said:
“Popov has not demonstrated that the public interest in disclosing H.T.’s A- File outweighs H.T.’s privacy interest in non-disclosure.”
The judges went on to say:
“H.T.’s privacy interests are substantial, not attenuated….Popov has not provided evidence that H.T. has been charged, arrested, or convicted of a crime….If Popov’s allegations of marriage fraud are true, disclosure would also subject H.T. to ‘embarrassment.’ ”
They note that Popov “concedes H.T.’s alleged fraud and crimes”—including sales of cannabis in Humboldt County that the lawyer asserts are unlawful under federal law—are not matters of public record.
The opinion adds:
“…H.T.’s serious privacy interest outweighs the marginal benefit to the public of disclosing H.T.’s A-File….Government error in the processing of one individual’s petitions and applications where none of the alleged fraud or crimes are public would at best marginally advance the public’s understanding of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ performance of its statutory duties, but not ‘significantly.’…That is insufficient to outweigh Todorov’s ‘serious privacy interests.’ ”
Popov commented Friday:
“What can you expect when all three assigned judges happen to be elected by two Democrat Presidents who single handed have destroyed and have corrupted the integrity of the DHS and now are trying to cover it up. The 9th Circuit Court Judge ratio is 16 judges elected by Democrat presidents and 13 judge elected by Republican president. Hard to believe that the computerized random judge selection implemented by the 9th circuit was not manipulated.”
The case is Popov v. Department of Homeland Security, 24-5703.
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