A
suburban immigration consultant is among two defendants arrested the week of Friday,
February 8, 2013, after being indicted for allegedly conspiring to arrange sham
marriages to evade immigration laws and enable foreign nationals to illegally
become U.S.
permanent residents. The pair allegedly arranged at least four fraudulent
marriages and attempted to arrange a fifth between a foreign national and an
undercover special agent who was posing as a private U.S. citizen.
These
charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its partner
agencies on the Chicago Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, which includes
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's Fraud Detection and National
Security Unit.
Teresita
Zarrabian, 60, a naturalized U.S.
citizen residing in Des Plaines, and Michael
Smith, 41, a U.S. citizen
residing in Bellwood, were charged in a
seven-count indictment that was returned Jan. 31 and unsealed when they were
arrested Thursday, February 7, 2013. They are each charged with conspiracy to
commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud and visa fraud.
Zarrabian, the owner of
Zarrabian and Associates, an immigration consulting business in Arlington Heights, was also charged with obstructing
justice.
Zarrabian
and Smith pleaded not guilty when they appeared Thursday, February 7, 2013, and
Friday, February 8, 2013, respectively, in district court. They were released
on their own recognizance.
"Marriage
fraud is a serious crime that exploits our nation's immigration system and
poses a vulnerability to our security," said Gary Hartwig, special agent
in charge of HSI Chicago. "HSI will continue its efforts to identify and
arrest individuals whose actions show a complete disregard for U.S.
immigration laws, which undermines the legitimate immigration process."
According
to the indictment, between 2005 and 2012, Zarrabian assisted foreign-born clients
to complete the necessary forms to become U.S.
permanent residents based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. Clients paid
Zarrabian between $8,000 and $15,000 in exchange for arranging fraudulent
marriages to U.S.
citizens recruited by Zarrabian and Smith, the charges allege.
Foreign
nationals who marry U.S.
citizens legitimately may lawfully become U.S. permanent residents, but not
if the marriage is a sham to evade immigration laws.
Zarrabian
allegedly paid Smith a portion of the money she received from foreign-born
clients for Smith's recruited U.S.
citizen spouses. In turn, Zarrabian allegedly promised to pay about $5,000 to
the U.S.
citizen spouses for their participation in a sham marriage. Both defendants
arranged to have individuals travel to Las
Vegas for a fraudulent wedding and also took photos of
the "couple" and other steps to create the false impression that the
sham marriages were legitimate. Zarrabian also met with the couples and told
them what actions they needed to take to make their marriages appear legitimate
during marriage interviews with officials, according to the indictment.
The
obstruction count alleges that Zarrabian attempted to persuade a U.S.
citizen involved in a fraudulent marriage from communicating information to law
enforcement.
Assistant
U.S. Attorney Tony Iweagwu, Northern District of Illinois, is prosecuting the
case.
Conspiracy
to commit marriage fraud and each count of marriage fraud carry a maximum
penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Visa fraud carries a
maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The obstruction
count against Zarrabian carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000
fine.
The
public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence
of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial
at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.
A
religious leader from India,
who founded a local Hindu temple, was sentenced Tuesday, January 22, 2013, to
more than three years in prison in connection with a religious visa fraud
scheme that operated in India
and Wisconsin.
This
sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Sagarsen
Haldar, aka Gopal Hari Das, 33, was sentenced Jan. 22 in the Eastern District
of Wisconsin to 37 months in federal prison for conspiring to commit
immigration fraud. He was found guilty by a federal jury Nov. 10, 2011 of
fraudulently obtaining religious worker visas – known as "R-1" visas
– for Indian nationals in exchange for substantial cash payments. After he
completes his prison sentence, Haldar will be turned over to ICE and placed
into removal proceedings.
Haldar
identifies himself as the founder, president, CEO and spiritual leader of
Gaudiya Vaisnava Society (GVS), a religious temple located at 2425 W. Ramsey Ave.
in Milwaukee.
According
to evidence at trial, Haldar conspired to sponsor more than two dozen Indian
nationals to enter the country under R-1 visas. Typically, the R-1 applications
falsely stated that the individuals were religious workers from India who planned to be priests and perform
religious work at the GVS temple in Milwaukee.
In fact, the Indian nationals had no religious training or experience, and they
had no intention of being priests or performing religious work once they
arrived in the United States.
Haldar
was charged in June 2010 after HSI special agents arrested him at O'Hare
International Airport in Chicago as he arrived
in the United States from India. A search
of Haldar's luggage revealed that he was transporting identification documents
– including passports and other Indian identification documents – bearing the
names and photographs of other Indian nationals.
His arrest was the culmination
of a lengthy HSI investigation into Haldar and GVS.
The
investigation into Haldar was initiated in June 2008 after HSI received
information from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) Benefit
Fraud Unit that GVS had filed numerous petitions for R-1 religious workers from
India.
Subsequent investigation by HSI revealed that Haldar used the GVS temple as a
front for an elaborate religious visa fraud scheme.
In
the scheme, Haldar charged Indian nationals as much as $30,000 each in exchange
for his assistance to fraudulently obtain R-1 visas. The fraudulent priests
typically made substantial cash payments to Haldar and his associates in India, and were indebted to Haldar for the
balance once they arrived in the United States. They worked at
convenience stores and other Milwaukee-area locations, drove taxi cabs, and
paid Haldar from what they earned.
"This
country's immigration system is not for sale, and those who think they can
exploit the system for personal gain will pay the price for their crimes,"
said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge for HSI Chicago. "Visa fraud
not only undermines the integrity of our legal immigration process, it also
poses a significant security vulnerability."
HSI
was assisted in the investigation by USCIS and the U.S. Department of State's
Diplomatic Security Service. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad,
Eastern District of Wisconsin, successfully prosecuted the case.
