Homeland Security sets up sting to identify fake students and traps many Telugu 'students'

[Zorro]

Feds created a fake university for entrapment. Guess which ethnicity was foolish enough to get trapped!

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...ts/2722791002/

Those charged include:

• Bharath Kakireddy, 29, of Lake Mary, Florida.
• Aswanth Nune, 26, of Atlanta.
• Suresh Reddy Kandala, 31, of Culpeper, Virginia.
• Phanideep Karnati, 35, of Louisville, Kentucky.
• Prem Kumar Rampeesa, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Santosh Reddy Sama, 28, of Fremont, California.
• Avinash Thakkallapally, 28, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
• Naveen Prathipati, 29, of Dallas.

Full story -->>

Feds used fake Michigan university in immigration sting
Robert Snell, The Detroit News Published 2:39 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2019 | Updated 3:28 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2019

Federal agents used a fake university in Farmington Hills to lure alleged phony foreign students who were trying to stay in the United States illegally.
The University of Farmington had no staff, no instructors, no curriculum and no classes but was utilized by undercover Homeland Security agents to
identify people involved in immigration fraud, according to federal grand jury indictments unsealed Wednesday.
Eight people were charged with participating in a conspiracy to help at least 600 foreign citizens stay in the U.S. illegally, according to the indictments,
which describe an innovative investigation that dates to 2015 but intensified one month into President Donald Trump's tenure as part of a broader
crackdown on illegal immigration.
Those charged include:
• Bharath Kakireddy, 29, of Lake Mary, Florida.
• Aswanth Nune, 26, of Atlanta.
• Suresh Reddy Kandala, 31, of Culpeper, Virginia.
• Phanideep Karnati, 35, of Louisville, Kentucky.
• Prem Kumar Rampeesa, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Santosh Reddy Sama, 28, of Fremont, California.
• Avinash Thakkallapally, 28, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
• Naveen Prathipati, 29, of Dallas.

"These suspects aided hundreds of foreign nationals to remain in the United States illegally by helping to portray them as students, which they most
certainly were not," said Steve Francis, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations office in Detroit. The eight defendants have all been arrested.
Starting in 2015, the university was part of an undercover operation designed to identify recruiters and entities engaged in immigration fraud, according to the indictment. Homeland Security agents started posing as university officials in February 2017.
Immigration crimes alleged in the indictment date to February 2017 and continued until this month and involved Homeland Security agents posing as
owners and employees of the university. The university had a professional website and a physical location at a commercial building on Northwestern
Highway.

"... the university was being used by foreign citizens as a 'pay to stay' scheme which allowed these individuals to stay in the United States as a result of foreign citizens falsely asserting that they were enrolled as full-time students in an approved educational program and that they were making normal progress toward completion of the course of study," the indictment reads. The recruiters helped foreign citizens fraudulently obtain immigration documents from the university and helped create phony student records, including transcripts, according to the government.
“We are all aware that international students can be a valuable asset to our country, but as this case shows, the well-intended international student visa
program can also be exploited and abused,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement Wednesday. The recruiters didn't know the university was fake, however, and operated by federal agents.

The students knew that the university's program was illegal, according to the indictment. As part of the alleged scheme, recruiters intended to help shield and hide the students from immigration authorities, according to the indictment. Those charged included recruiters who received cash and kickbacks to find students to attend the university, the government alleges.

[sarv_shaktimaan]

saare gult phas gaye.. Now they need to repeat something similar in H-1B and green card queue

[sgars]

Some audacity-
“In February 2017, Sama called the university and inquired about enrolling as a student "without attending classes in order to fraudulently maintain his immigration status," according to the indictment. During the phone call with an undercover agent, Sama also requested a tuition reduction for bringing students to the university.”

[sarv_shaktimaan]

Couple cases i know .. sorry that both times it was a gult.

1. Student at port of entry days to immigration officer.. i’m here to wirk and make money.

2. A junior colleague on his student visa working on OPT (optional practical training) status says to an American.. we come for masters to get easy entry to US.. degree is just hogwash.

[HarHarMahaDev]

I know some folks who have done this bs to stay illegally in the US. Several chutiyatic universities in Kentucky. I have heard Cumberland University Online program processes f1s.

[sgars]

Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

Couple cases i know .. sorry that both times it was a gult.

1. Student at port of entry days to immigration officer.. i’m here to wirk and make money.

2. A junior colleague on his student visa working on OPT (optional practical training) status says to an American.. we come for masters to get easy entry to US.. degree is just hogwash.

They were actually being honest

[kkkk]

I thought entrapment cannot be used as evidence in US court of law?! It can be certainly argued that had it not been for the phony university, the crime would not have got committed.... people calling the uni asking questions with doubtful intentions does not make a crime, does it?

[sarv_shaktimaan]

Originally Posted by kkkk

I thought entrapment cannot be used as evidence in US court of law?! It can be certainly argued that had it not been for the phony university, the crime would not have got committed.... people calling the uni asking questions with doubtful intentions does not make a crime, does it?

In that 60 minutes show they entrapped alien guys by posing as underage girls on internat chats.. then luring them for sex. All were deported out of US.

[kkkk]

Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

In that 60 minutes show they entrapped alien guys by posing as underage girls on internat chats.. then luring them for sex. All were deported out of US.

Deporting is not the same as charging or imprisonment in US. Deporting does not require anybody to be charged of a crime as far as I know. Conversly, even when charged and imprisoned, some people cannot be deported.

[sarv_shaktimaan]

Originally Posted by kkkk

Deporting is not the same as charging or imprisonment in US. Deporting does not require anybody to be charged of a crime as far as I know. Conversly, even when charged and imprisoned, some people cannot be deported.

Well, in this case they actually committed a crime. Being on CPT on first day of Masters course. The rule is that one has to have completed 2 semesters to qualify for CPT (Curricular Practical Training).

The main point is that desperate folks are coming in as students, not for the purpose of education. Even during the F-1 visa interview, their intent is to determine through different questions, if the person's objective is solely education, or something else. Because those seats go to waste if people drop out for any reason.

I had a fult engineering classmate, he used to say if I get to US even once for few months, my rate goes into Crores. He meant dowry.

[sgars]

^^
Looks like the market is back now.
90s and early 2000s were when software walas in US were a Hot commodity.
in 2008 though, one Reddy guy was saying that no one was then prepared to marry their daughter to a 'US software guy'.
Else, you now get decent salary in India too. In one whatsapp group a start up owner claimed that he was dishing out 75 Lakhs per annum for someone with 3 years of experience. Only the life is too hectic.

[kkkk]

Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

Well, in this case they actually committed a crime. Being on CPT on first day of Masters course. The rule is that one has to have completed 2 semesters to qualify for CPT (Curricular Practical Training).

The main point is that desperate folks are coming in as students, not for the purpose of education. Even during the F-1 visa interview, their intent is to determine through different questions, if the person's objective is solely education, or something else. Because those seats go to waste if people drop out for any reason.

I had a fult engineering classmate, he used to say if I get to US even once for few months, my rate goes into Crores. He meant dowry.

its not new - this posing as students I guess. New is the ways they are using to trap these people and close this hole.

I cant understand why people will give themselves away in the interviews... perhaps its the mentality of - "kya ho jayega?"

[kkkk]

Originally Posted by sgars

^^
Looks like the market is back now.
90s and early 2000s were when software walas in US were a Hot commodity.
in 2008 though, one Reddy guy was saying that no one was then prepared to marry their daughter to a 'US software guy'.
Else, you now get decent salary in India too. In one whatsapp group a start up owner claimed that he was dishing out 75 Lakhs per annum for someone with 3 years of experience. Only the life is too hectic.

I know about this conundrum now too... lots of people with daughters who are educated and want to work reluctant to get daughters married to guys in US land of trump because they think dependents will not be allowed to work in US.

[echarcha]

Come to the Bay Area... So many Lyft/Uber drivers, so many waiters in Desi restaurants... all 'students' here .. all waiting for degree to 'finish' ....

Sorry, but Gultis are the most desperate to be here using all kinds of shady means.

[echarcha]

Originally Posted by kkkk

I thought entrapment cannot be used as evidence in US court of law?! It can be certainly argued that had it not been for the phony university, the crime would not have got committed.... people calling the uni asking questions with doubtful intentions does not make a crime, does it?

True but this is not entrapment. Its like you are announcing that you can do something illegal to someone.. and that someone knowingly joins you in the illegal activity. That's not entrapment.