The couple, as well as four co-conspirators, were indicted on April 27.
An Indian-American couple, Raju Kosuri, 44, and Smriti Jharia, 45, of Ashburn, Virginia has pleaded guilty to the charges of 20 million US dollars visa fraud involving Indian workers, the Justice Department has said.
The couple, as well as four co-conspirators, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and visa fraud on April 27.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Kosuri, Jharia and their co-conspirators fraudulently applied for more than 900 illegal immigration benefits under H-1B visa program.
Kosuri and Jharia also admitted to defrauding the Small Business Administration in connection with a scheme to obtain HUBZone certification for a business named EcomNets Federal Solutions.
Since 2008, and at much greater scale since 2011, Kosuri has built a staffing business that amounts to a visa-for-sale system, in violation of federal law, the Justice Department said.
Kosuri agreed to forfeit proceeds of his fraud schemes in the amount of USD 20,900,00, a media release said.
The visa fraud scheme also involves the forgery of numerous individuals’ signatures on visa petitions and exhibits without their knowledge. Kosuri, Jharia with a consultant named Raimondo Piluso face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, if convicted. The other co-conspirators face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted.
2 Comments
We need passion and government action this huge loophole in the H-1b system.
Literally, our Federal Government has a program that gives indentured workers to Offshore Outsourcing companies. Offshore Outsourcing companies do nothing but destroy jobs in the United States. The Offshore Outsourcing companies have internal program to NEVER hire an American.
How can anyone sit idly by an allow such rampant discrimination, such blatant in your face scoffing at our Civil Rights laws. How can a President of the United States, who talks a lot, but does nothing to stop the biggest single case of ethnic discrimination from taking place with the full assistance of our Federal Government.
Let’s be clear, H-1b is a Federal Government program. It isn’t in the Constitution, it’s not an “entitlement”. It’s a program, and as such it can come and go, or be changed, tailored, to the needs of the American people. Not to the whims of whiners, who frankly don’t even understand, or are afraid to say, what the real problem with H-1b program. In fact the only problem with H-1b program is that we give H-1b visas to Offshore Outsourcing companies that do nothing but destroy jobs.
That in contrast to our lying politicians and sitting office holders, all say, that “with your help” they are going to create millions of jobs. Such a sick fraud has been perpetrated against the American people, it is beyond belief, it is the definition of insanity.
If Offshore Outsourcing companies were barred from the H-1b U.S. Federal Government program, not only would we not (or ever have been) be running out of H-1b visas. We would in fact have more immigrants, because the Offshore Outsourcing companies never sponsor anyone for a Green Card.
Letting the discrimanatory Offshore Outsourcing companies access to government handout of indentured servants, has turned the H-1b visa into an Anti-Immigration program. The Offshore Outsourcing companies don’t need fuedalism (that’s what slavery was, the last vestige of feudalism). They can try Capitalism and the free labor market, ever heard of that? Heard of any of that kind of talk on Capital hill in the last 20 years?
That’s the lying-sickness-insanity of all the Politicians who have been promoting an increases in the H-1b visa these last 20 years. They are flat-out liars, they may as well be selling snake oil on television, at least then they wouldn’t be damaging the U.S. economy with their sick lies.
And the Whiners of Silicon Valley (it ought to be show on tabloid TV), who do nothing but bitch for more H-1b visas. If they would just turn one brain cell to the real problem with the H-1b visa. They would quickly realize, that if we reserved the H-1b visa for companies that actually create jobs, we wouldn’t ever need to increase the number of H-1b visa.
And those lying jack-ass CEO’s, instead of spending hundreds of millions on lobbyists to get politicians to let them write the next immigration bill, could instead use the money for the dividends, increase business activity, or even their fat CEO golden parachute.
Such sick garbage, if you know this already, and can’t write with some passion, you are basically just dead inside. Your are a compassionless, heartless, human deliquent, who really needs to be listening to the song “Once In a Lifetime”.
no jail time? deportation? who gets the money? displaced american workers were the victims. anything for them?