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Two men will serve prison for their roles in a deceptive Medford-based business that for four years bilked tens of thousands of dollars from roughly 100 immigrants, many of whom were contacted through Spanish-language churches. In a room packed to capacity Thursday at U.S. District Court, 10 victims spoke of the broken promises, emptied savings and threats endured from Patrick Keith Snyder and Juvenal Vega Rodriguez as the immigrants desperately sought residency through Snyder's business, Immigration Solutions. Officially, the business had a listed purpose as "form preparation." U.S. District Judge Michael McShane sentenced Snyder to 75 months in prison and ordered him to repay $637,190 in restitution to at least 90 victims. Snyder was ordered to begin prison immediately. "People here have been waiting a long time to see justice," McShane said. "I will take Mr. Snyder into custody now." Vega was given a lesser sentence of 41 months and $150,000 in restitution on grounds he didn't know at first that Snyder was defrauding immigrants. Vega's lawyer William Sharp claimed Vega didn't know about Snyder's deceptions until the fourth year. Portland-based immigration lawyer John Marandas, who's taken on several victims' immigration cases, said the forms Snyder haphazardly filed may jeopardize their cases. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will address issues only on a case-by-case basis. "I would say that this case represents the worst case of 'Notario' (notary) fraud this state has ever seen," Marandas said. "This was a very big operation." Among the victims was Eduardo Medina-Garcia, who said his family suffered severe financial hardships and fear after he paid Snyder and Vega $11,000. Medina-Garcia said he believed he'd found an opportunity to be in the United States legally through Snyder, who posed as a lawyer with connections other lawyers didn't have. Medina-Garcia borrowed from friends and family, but didn't have enough. Snyder pressed him for more. "I didn't have it all, and Patrick saw the truck I had," Medina-Garcia told McShane through a translator. Medina-Garcia said Snyder pressed him to give up his truck because he needed the vehicle, then gave the truck to Vega. Snyder previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and Vega pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering for their crimes, which occurred from early 2009 to September 2012. Wearing a charcoal gray sweatsuit and wheelchair-bound after being paralyzed from a 2012 heart attack and stroke, Snyder pulled himself from his wheelchair to apologize directly to his victims. He said the money fueled his heroin and cocaine addiction, which he said he needed to consume intravenously just to function. He's been clean and sober since 2012, but still suffers post traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury he received from his time in the Navy, he and his lawyer said. Wearing a pressed gray striped shirt and slacks, Vega made a tearful apology in Spanish claiming that for three of the four years of the fraud, he believed the promises Snyder made to victims. Through a translator he offered "a thousand apologies." McShane, however, asked him if he ever returned the truck. Vega said he still has it, but it's not running. "Victims don't need a thousand apologies, they need their money back," McShane said. Vega immigrated to the United States from Mexico and became a United States citizen in the 1990s, according to a release issued by the U.S. Attorney's office. Vega would recruit for Snyder's immigration services at church and social gatherings throughout Oregon. Sharp presented to the court text messages Snyder used to fake his death to Vega in spring and summer 2012. On July 24, someone posing as Snyder's wife said Snyder was on life support and told Vega his health problems were caused by stress with the immigration cases Vega had sent him. On Sept. 24, Vega tried texting Snyder again, and the messenger claiming to be Snyder's wife said that he'd passed away. Vega asked when and where he died, but received no further response. McShane said it was difficult to reconcile the mound of letters that described Vega as a role model active with his church who fed and clothed homeless immigrants and victims' testimony describing how Vega would use foul language and harass them for payment. McShane dismissed Vega's claims he was a "cog in the system." "Mr. Vega, it's very hard to figure out what to make of all these people who'd been terribly abused by you," McShane said. "It's easy to explain (Snyder's) failure, it's much more difficult to explain your failure." — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.