A Georgia man was sentenced today to three years in prison for unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship by lying about his role in persecuting teenagers in Ethiopia in the 1970s for their political opinions. According to court documents, Mezemr Abebe Belayneh, also known as Mezmur Amare Belayneh, 68, of Snellville, unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship in 2008 by lying about and concealing that he persecuted and committed acts of violence against perceived political opponents during a period known as “the Red Terror” in Ethiopia.

WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Vinaykumar Patel, age 33, a citizen of the Republic of India, was convicted of multiple counts related to visa fraud and conspiracy following a three-day jury trial that concluded on December 6, 2023.

Shai Cohen, 39, admitted to organizing and working with others to recruit and facilitate the illegal entry of Israeli citizens into the United States under false pretenses. From approximately 2011 through December 2013, Cohen and his co-conspirators assisted noncitizens in fraudulently obtaining B-1/B-2 tourist/visitor visas by misrepresenting the true purpose of their travel to the United States, which was illegal employment.

A California man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to running a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” that arranged hundreds of sham marriages for the primary purpose of circumventing immigration laws. This included, among other things, obtaining green cards under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by claiming the undocumented clients had been abused by alleged American spouses.

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Vikrant Chauhan, 35, a citizen of India living in Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

From September 2016 through March 2021, Andrea Torres and her sister, Regina Johnson, arranged and facilitated sham marriages for non-U.S. citizens who wished to remain in the United States despite the lack of legal status or proper documentation. Andrea Torres and Johnson recruited U.S. citizen potential spouses and paid them a fee in exchange for those U.S. citizens entering into sham marriages with Andrea Torres’ and Johnson’s non-citizen clients.

An indictment charging an Israeli national with leading a visa fraud scheme to facilitate the illegal entry and employment of noncitizens in the United States was unsealed today in the Eastern District of Virginia. According to court documents, Shai Cohen, 39, allegedly organized, led, and worked with others to recruit and facilitate the illegal entry of Israeli citizens into the United States under false pretenses

According to court documents, Hesam Fatehi Peykani, 38, allegedly organized, led, and worked with others in his Iranian-based smuggling network to facilitate the entry of Iranian citizens into the United States under false pretenses. Peykani allegedly carried out his scheme by charging Iranian citizens between $1,000 to $30,000 to submit or cause to be submitted tourist visa applications with false information on their behalf at a nearby U.S. consulate or embassy.

Between November 2018 and December 2021, a Brooklyn-based immigration law firm allegedly advised clients to seek asylum by falsely claiming that they were members of the LGBTQ community who suffered persecution in their native countries, understanding that those clients did not legitimately qualify for asylum. They also coached certain clients to lie in asylum interviews conducted by USCIS asylum officers and represented these clients as they lied under oath during immigration proceedings.

The CEO of an immigration services firm called “Russian America” and an immigration attorney named “Julia Greenberg” were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit immigration fraud following a two-week trial.

According to court documents, Oleksandr Morgunov, formerly of Key West, helped operate labor staffing companies in southern Florida that facilitated the unauthorized employment of foreign nationals in hotels, bars and restaurants.

According to the DOJ, a Mexican national fraudulently obtained a visa by making materially false statements under oath. Velasco claimed that he had never engaged in any kind of sexual contact with any person who was being forced or threatened. But it was revealed that he had taken indecent liberties with an 11-year-old child.

The DOJ announced the indictment charging Moses Slanger Wright, 69, of Philadelphia, PA, with fraudulently attempting to obtain citizenship, fraud in immigration documents, false statements in relation to naturalization, and perjury in connection with his fraudulent attempt to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Eleven California-based individuals have been indicted in connection with running a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” that allegedly arranged hundreds of sham marriages entered into for the primary purpose of circumventing immigration laws.

According to court documents, Audrey Bonet Johnson, a U.S. citizen, and Shanon St. Aubyn Stephenson, a citizen of Jamaica, entered into a fraudulent marriage.  Shortly thereafter, Johnson and Stephenson applied to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for Stephenson to become a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., often called a “green card.” 

As reported by the DOJ, two men in Greenville, SC were sentenced to federal prison for attempting to fraudulently acquire U visas for two other illegal immigrants. USCIS is super happy to say that they helped.

A federal grand jury has charged a pair of Culpeper residents for staging an armed robbery to become eligible to apply for, and obtain, a U-Visa, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today.

As reported by WJTV and CIS, a veteran Jackson, MS police officer was charged with falsifying police reports for accusers seeking U visas. As noted by the Department of Justice, a local attorney was indicted for submitting these false documents to USCIS. In addition to the U visa fraud ring with 16 counts of fraud brought to trial, a marriage fraud ring was detected in Jackson, MS in this 2016 investigation, with 16 counts of fraud brought to trial. 12 defendants wound up pleading guilty.

As noted by the US Department of Justice, a Dallas based immigration attorney was arrested in 2015 on seven counts of various types of fraud related to her practice of allegedly obtaining false U visas for her clients. She later plead guilty to aggravated identity theft when she used a police officer’s badge number, and forged his signature to falsely certify a client’s U visa paperwork. She was only sentenced to 24 months in jail.