H-1B fraud ring prosecuted
H-1B fraud ring prosecuted
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 2:57 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1623 -- 1/16/2007 >>>>>
The story below on Pegasus News is very important but the title does not
accurately describe the nature of the fraud, or the seriousness. If you
just read the title it sounds like just another story about illegal aliens.
There is much more to the story than the title suggests!
Sunny Khanna and his co-conspirators got busted for fraudulently applying
for and receiving H-1B applications. They pulled off this scheme by
falsifying education documents by using an organization as a diploma paper
mill. You can view their webpage here:
http://www.wesworldwide.com/
Sunny and his buddies used a bodyshop called "Reference Data Consulting and
Recruiting" to sponsor the visas. I couldn't find much out about the
company since they lost their charter after the fraud was discovered.
The article implies that the aliens were in the U.S. illegally when they
obtained their visas. Unfortunately the aliens are no longer illegal
because their H-1B visas authorize them to work and live in the U.S. Nobody
will know or care that their visas were obtained fraudulently because they
were officially signed off by the Dept. of Labor and the BCIS. These
foreign agents are now operating in the USA and what's very scary is that
our government doesn't track the whereabouts of nonimmigrants such as
H-1Bs. They may be working anywhere, even in our nuclear power stations,
government research labs, or perhaps they are training to fly airplanes!
It's very significant that the visas were given to aliens from Pakistan,
India, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Yemen
because all of these countries have radical Muslim and Islamic populations
who want to send terrorist agents into the U.S. Even if they aren't
terrorists they could be here to do espionage or industrial spying. These
people could be deadly national security threats and as long as they have
those visas they are free to work and live in the U.S.
Of the 95 petitions filed, only one of the aliens was denied a visa. That
means 94 potential terrorists are working somewhere in the U.S. I hope the
DHS is hunting these people down, but if previous history is any guide
nothing will be done until a disaster occurs. If any of you watched "24" on
television last night you saw a suitcase nuclear bomb that was detonated
over Los Angeles. Are we going to have to wait until something like this
happens before these H-1B scofflaws are tracked down?
NOTE: You can leave comments on the PegasusNews website.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel07/khanna_sen_pr.html
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas
1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699
Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DALLAS, TEXAS
CONTACT: 214/659-8600
www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn JANUARY 12, 2007
IRVING, TEXAS, MAN SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS
IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE,
FOR ROLE IN CONSPIRACY
TO PROVIDE COUNTERFEIT DOCUMENTS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS
Sunny Khanna was sentenced today to 18 months imprisonment by the Honorable
John McBryde, following his conviction in September for aiding and abetting
fraud and misuse of documents, announced United States Attorney Richard B.
Roper. Khannas sentence is a downward departure from the United States
Sentencing Guidelines in recognition of Khannas assistance in the
prosecution of his co-defendants, Syed S. Shahabuddin and Shariq Ahmed
Khan. Syed S. Shahabuddin, who pled guilty to conspiracy to transport and
harbor aliens, will be sentenced next month. Another co-defendant, Shariq
Ahmed Khan, was convicted by a federal jury in October on numerous related
charges and will also be sentenced next month. Sunny Khanna, age 48, is a
former resident of Colleyville, Texas, but now resides in Irving, Texas.
According to documents filed in court, beginning sometime prior to March
2001, Sunny Khanna and his co-defendants were part of a conspiracy to
provide false paperwork to aliens illegally in the United States to allow
them to get work permits. Khanna, along with his co-defendant Sharique
Ahmed Khan, age 44, operated a business in Bedford, Texas, to aid aliens
who wished to enter and work in the United States to obtain visas and work
permits. Sunny Khanna was the registered agent and Vice President for
Reference Data Consulting and Recruiting Inc. (RDCR). RDCR forfeited its
charter on March 23, 2001, for failing to pay its franchise tax. However,
RDCR continued to file H-1B petitions with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), many of which were in fact approved. Sunny
Khanna appears as the signing official for all of the H-1B petitions (Form
I-129).
The beneficiaries of the petitions filed by Sunny Khanna were mainly from
Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka
and Yemen. RDCR submitted approximately 95 petitions with the INS for H-1B
visas. On December 18, 2002, the American Consulate in Chennai, India
returned one of the H1-B petitions submitted by the defendant, Sunny
Khanna, after it was determined during an interview that the beneficiary
admitted that the documentation in support of the visa was counterfeit.
Co-defendant Syed S. Shahabuddin, age 40, admitted in court documents that
he knew certain persons in the Chicago, Illinois, area who were in the
country illegally, as they had either come to the United States as visitors
or students who overstayed their visas. Shahabuddin learned that these
people would be able to get work authorizations through Sunny Khanna and
Sharik Ahmed Khan, so he agreed with Khan that he would transport them
safely to Dallas to obtain the paperwork.
RDCR charged aliens approximately $5000 to submit petitions for work visas
to the INS, with $2000-$3000 of that amount paid to the government for
fees. RDCR would use Worldwide Education Service to get diplomas and then
"white-out" the name and alter the document to change the name to the name
that appeared on the H-1B petition.
In one such instance, on February 15, 2002, Sunny Khanna and his
co-defendant, Shariq Ahmed Khan, presented a forged and altered university
diploma to the INS in Dallas, Texas, in connection with a Petition for
Non-Immigrant Worker, for Manzoor Buchh. The document was required by the
immigration laws and regulations to be filed in support of the petition.
Although it was made under penalty of perjury, it contained a false
statement, that is, that the alien had been admitted to the Degree of
Bachelor of Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. Khanna
knew that statement was false, in that he and Shariq Khan had manufactured
the counterfeit diploma in Bedford, Texas. In support of the false
statement, Khanna and Khan filed the counterfeit university diploma, which
falsely purported to be a Degree of Bachelor of Engineering from Osmania
University, Hyderabad, India.
U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of of Immigration
and Customs Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorney J. Michael Worley.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/jan/13/judge-sentences-man-helping-ille
gal-aliens-get-fal/
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Judge sentences man for helping illegal aliens get false work permits
By Pegasus News wire
Email Print Tell us your story Comment
Sunny Khanna was sentenced today to 18 months in prison by Judge John
McBryde, following his conviction in September for aiding and abetting
fraud and misuse of documents.
Khannas sentence is a downward departure from the United States
Sentencing Guidelines in recognition of Khannas assistance in the
prosecution of his co-defendants, Syed S. Shahabuddin and Shariq Ahmed
Khan. Syed S. Shahabuddin, who pled guilty to conspiracy to transport and
harbor aliens, will be sentenced next month. Another co-defendant, Shariq
Ahmed Khan, was convicted by a federal jury in October on numerous related
charges and will also be sentenced next month. Sunny Khanna, age 48, is a
former resident of Colleyville, but now resides in Irving.
According to documents filed in court, beginning sometime prior to March
2001, Sunny Khanna and his co-defendants were part of a conspiracy to
provide false paperwork to aliens illegally in the United States to allow
them to get work permits. Khanna, along with his co-defendant Sharique
Ahmed Khan, age 44, operated a business in Bedford, Texas, to aid aliens
who wished to enter and work in the United States to obtain visas and work
permits. Sunny Khanna was the registered agent and Vice President for
Reference Data Consulting and Recruiting Inc. (RDCR). RDCR forfeited its
charter on March 23, 2001, for failing to pay its franchise tax. However,
RDCR continued to file H-1B petitions with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), many of which were in fact approved. Sunny
Khanna appears as the signing official for all of the H-1B petitions (Form
I-129).
The beneficiaries of the petitions filed by Sunny Khanna were mainly from
Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka
and Yemen. RDCR submitted approximately 95 petitions with the INS for H-1B
visas. On December 18, 2002, the American Consulate in Chennai, India
returned one of the H1-B petitions submitted by the defendant, Sunny
Khanna, after it was determined during an interview that the beneficiary
admitted that the documentation in support of the visa was counterfeit.
Co-defendant Syed S. Shahabuddin, age 40, admitted in court documents that
he knew certain persons in the Chicago, Illinois, area who were in the
country illegally, as they had either come to the United States as visitors
or students who overstayed their visas. Shahabuddin learned that these
people would be able to get work authorizations through Sunny Khanna and
Sharik Ahmed Khan, so he agreed with Khan that he would transport them
safely to Dallas to obtain the paperwork.
RDCR charged aliens approximately $5,000 to submit petitions for work visas
to the INS, with $2,000-$3,000 of that amount paid to the government for
fees. RDCR would use Worldwide Education Service to get diplomas and then
"white-out" the name and alter the document to change the name to the name
that appeared on the H-1B petition.
In one such instance, on February 15, 2002, Sunny Khanna and his
co-defendant, Shariq Ahmed Khan, presented a forged and altered university
diploma to the INS in Dallas, in connection with a Petition for
Non-Immigrant Worker, for Manzoor Buchh. The document was required by the
immigration laws and regulations to be filed in support of the petition.
Although it was made under penalty of perjury, it contained a false
statement, that is, that the alien had been admitted to the Degree of
Bachelor of Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. Khanna
knew that statement was false, in that he and Shariq Khan had manufactured
the counterfeit diploma in Bedford, Texas. In support of the false
statement, Khanna and Khan filed the counterfeit university diploma, which
falsely purported to be a Degree of Bachelor of Engineering from Osmania
University, Hyderabad, India.
Source: U.S. attorney's office
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