11 Consultants Arrested in H-1B Fraud
By Scholarship for USA on Feb 18, 2009 with Comments 2
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested 11 consultants on February 11, 2009 in an operation carried out by all levels of government. These consultants are accused of suspected visa and mail fraud. Vision Systems Group Inc., a New Jersey consulting company with a branch office in Coon Rapids, Iowa has also been accused in the same investigation.
These arrests are part of a larger investigation by the US government to uncover H1B fraud. Companies that are being investigated are said to have not had jobs ready for the consultants that they have sponsored through the H-1B visa system. They are also accused of not paying their consultants while on bench. In some cases the consultants were placed in jobs that were not authorized by the Department of Labor, thus displacing American workers.
The consultants that were arrested are suspected to have submitted false statements and documents in support of their visa applications. This carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine. Because these documents were mailed, the consultants are also charged with mail fraud which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine.
The nationality of those arrested has not been released but most of the names sound Indian. The following are the names of persons that were arrested by ICE:
- Shiva Neeli, arrested in Boston, Mass.; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Ramakrishna Maguluri, arrested in Atlanta, Ga.; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Villiappan Subbaiah, arrested in Dallas, Texas; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Suresh Pola, arrested in Pennsylvania; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Vishnu Reddy, arrested in Los Angeles, Calif.; charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud.
- Chockalingam Palaniappan, arrested in San Jose, Calif.; charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud.
- Vijay Myneni, arrested in San Jose, Calif.; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Venkata Guduru, arrested in New Jersey; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Praveen Andapally, arrested in New Jersey; charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements in an immigration matter.
- Amit Justa, arrested in New Jersey; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
- Karambir Yadav, arrested in Louisville, Ky.; charged with conspiracy and mail fraud.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that the rampant fraud by the IT consulting firms will come to an end now that the US government has taken action? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Further reading: Email From an Indian IT Consulting Firm
The Truth About Indian IT Consulting Firms Revealed
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Filed Under: H-1B
Well, I am not against H1-B because I’m a non-immigrant too. I am waiting to apply for H1 too. But I didn’t get through for the first time because of these IT consultants. They usually duplicate the application (because of greed) which obviously overwhelms the number and leads to the lottery process. People like me and many others who apply with genuine documents gets screwed!! So..yes! they deserve such punishment! Moreover it is better to shut their business down.
Thanks
I doubt that it will come to an end anytime soon. They might crack down a few of these firms each year to justify their own jobs, but I do not believe it will have a huge impact on the industry. It’s similar to our southern border… or the ‘War on Drugs’. The harder the government tries to catch them, the harder the criminals will work to do what they’ve always done without getting caught.
And I agree with the first comment… the fraudulent companies just make it more difficult for those with valid sponsorships to get in.