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Tri-Valley University head indicted in visa fraud
Wednesday May 04, 2011 08:08:58 PM,
Arun Kumar, IANS
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Washington: The
president of the California-based Tri-Valley University, whose
closure affected nearly 1,500 Indian students, has been indicted
by a federal grand jury on the allegations of visa fraud and money
laundering.
Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, was taken into custody Monday morning at
her Pleasanton, California, home by special agents of the Homeland
Security Investigations of the US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE).
Su, who also served as the school's chief executive officer, is
accused of engaging in a two-year scheme to defraud the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) by submitting phony documents in
support of Tri-Valley University's applications to admit foreign
nationals on student visas.
The indictment further alleges that after obtaining such
approvals, Su fraudulently issued visa-related documents to
students in exchange for "tuition and fees" and engaged in
multiple money laundering transactions totalling more than $3.2
million.
"Today's indictment alleges a visa fraud scheme through which the
defendant accrued millions of dollars and took advantage of
others' eagerness to come to the United States," said US attorney
Melinda Haag.
The 33 counts contained in the indictment carry maximum penalties
ranging from one to 20 years imprisonment.
The charges include wire fraud; mail fraud; visa fraud and
conspiracy to commit visa fraud; use of a false document; making
false statements to a government agency; alien harbouring;
unauthorised access to a government computer and money laundering.
According to a federal complaint filed in a California court in
January, the TVU had helped foreign nationals illegally acquire
immigration status.
The sham university is said to have 1,555 students. As many as 95
percent of these students are Indian nationals, the complaint
said.
Investigations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
have found that while students were admitted to various
residential and online courses of the university and on paper
lived in California, but in reality they "illegally" worked in
various parts of the country as far as Maryland, Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Texas.
(Arun Kumar can be
contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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