SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Abhijit Prasad, of Tracy, Calif., has been charged with fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly obtaining two H-1B visas with false immigration documents.
According to the indictment filed against Prasad in Sacramento court, the Indian American filed 31 petitions for H-1B visas using false statements, under the penalty of perjury, for a multitude of work projects that were to be performed throughout California.
Prasad obtained two H-1B visas, the indictment alleges, fraudulently and by making false statements. He used a the stolen identities of other individuals as part of his scheme, according to the Justice Department. A federal grand jury returned a 33-count indictment on Prasad, charging him with 31 counts of visa fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Phillip A Talbert announced.
The case came as a result of the efforts of an investigation from the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service’s representative to the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, and was overseen by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations.
The DBFTF is a multi-agency task force that coordinates investigations into fraudulent immigration documents. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Office of Fraud Detection and National Security also assisted with the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Nirav Desai is prosecuting the case.
Prasad was arraigned on the charges on Dec. 23, and was released with the conditions of surrendering his passport. He has additionally posted bond until a further detention hearing. If convicted, Prasad faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years on each visa fraud count, and a $250,000 fine.
