Fraudsters Need Not Apply
With the assistance of four co-conspirators, a married couple from India thought they could scam the government by applying for more than $20 million in illegal immigration benefits under the H-1B visa program, but their plan was exposed and now they are looking at...
Out of Desperation
Desperation can drive a person to do some strange things, including commit a crime. The Bangor Daily News reports that a Kenyan woman was so desperate to be a U.S. citizen she participated in a fraudulent scheme to marry a Maine resident in...
Benched
It is common for an athlete to get benched for not playing well during a game. Similarly, a company can bench employees after a contract or project ends and before another one begins. It simply means you sit on the sidelines until the coach...
Fraud Disguised
Disguises can be used to pull off a crime. For instance, if a criminal plans to rob a bank, it is highly unlikely that he or she is going to walk into the lobby without wearing a face mask. The goal is...
Unreasonable Requests
If an immigrant follows the rules and regulations established by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), naturalization is achievable, even if it takes a long time. (Many immigrants seek legal counsel for the complicated process in hopes of improving their chances for approval.) An...
That’s No Way to Treat a Guest
The United States relies upon foreign laborers to harvest many of the country's crops. The H-2A visa program helps agricultural employers fill seasonal jobs with foreign guest workers to facilitate the process. Unfortunately, an Ohio business woman abused the program and the foreign workers...
Love Triangle
Today’s fraudster from Tamuning, Guam must have trusted his American friend implicitly. He convinced said “friend” to marry his girlfriend so she could receive a permanent resident card. (She was unlawfully present in the United States under the Guam Visa Waiver Program, which was...
Decoding Fraud
In times of conflict, a cryptologist's services are highly coveted. People who are able to decode a variety of communications including digital signals or foreign languages are almost always in high demand by the military or intelligence agencies. However, because of the nature of...
New Life, New Problems
A person lacking legal status is vulnerable to a wide range of abusive behavior, including fraud. Imagine making the discovery that a person, whom you'd believed to be a police officer offering assistance with your green card, is actually a con artist? A press...
Forget Wedded Bliss
Today’s “Fraud of the Day” is based on an article entitled, “Feds used fake wedding sting for arrest, conviction in immigration marriage fraud case,” published by Democrat & Chronicle. The undercover investigation yielded the arrests and convictions of four people involved in the scam.