Abhijit Prasad, a 49-year-old Indian origin man has been charged in the US with fraud and aggravated identity theft for obtaining two H-1B visas by producing false immigration documents. He has filed 31 petitions for H-1B non-immigrant visas along with false statements, made under penalty of perjury, claiming work projects to be performed at various locations in California.
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Prasad, 49, lives in Tracy, California. Nirav Desai, an assistant federal prosecutor, is prosecuting Prasad and is scheduled to appear before a judge on December 28.
The indictment alleges that Prasad had obtained two H-1B visas procured using fraud and false statements and used the means of the identification of a real person to effectuate his visa fraud scheme. The federal grand jury has returned a 33-count indictment against Prasad of Tracy, California, charging him with 31 counts of visa fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Phillip A Talbert said.
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The defendant, on December 23, 2016, was arraigned with the indictment and was released with conditions, including the surrender of his passport and a bond until a further detention hearing. The defendant has to appear before a US Magistrate Judge on December 28, 2016.
If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten (10) years on each visa fraud count and a USD 250,000 as fine. He will face a two-year mandatory, consecutive sentence on the aggravated identity theft counts, as well as a US $250,000 fine.
By Premji
