California Indian IT Staffing Company Operator Abhijit Prasad Convicted of H-1B Visa Fraud
August 05, 2019 - Tracy, CA Indian IT Staffing Company operator Abhijit Prasad (52) was convicted of 21 counts of H-1B visa fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft today by a federal grand jury.
According to the evidence presented at the trial in San Francisco:
Prasad filed 19 petitions for H-1B nonimmigrant visas containing false statements, made under penalty of perjury, as to purported work projects to be performed at locations in California, including Cisco Systems. The evidence at trial showed that Cisco had no expectation that the foreign workers who were the beneficiaries of the visa petitions would actually work at Cisco on an existing work project. The evidence at trial further showed that the defendant knowingly submitted forged Cisco documents to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in support of his claims that the beneficiaries would work at Cisco.Abhijit Prasad was indicted by a grand jury December 23, 2016 in Sacramento.
..Prasad fraudulently used the digital signature of a Cisco employee, who was not authorized to sign Cisco employment documents, to create a document that would leave the impression that two of the H-1B workers had an existing work project at Cisco. Prasad obtained two of the H-1B visas using this fraudulent document that purports to be a fully executed Cisco contract.
But, the case was ultimately tried in San Francisco following a court order transferring the same.
Potential Penalty
On the 21 counts of H1-B visa fraud Abhijit Prasad faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.And, on the two counts of aggravated identity theft, Abhijit Prasad faces a two-year mandatory prison sentence and a fine of $250,000.
The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Abhijit Prasad’s sentencing is scheduled for October 16, 2019.