Close X
Monday, December 16, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian CEO Pradyumna Kumar Samal, 49, Arrested On Visa Fraud Charges

IANS, 04 Sep, 2018 12:07 AM
    An Indian citizen, who was the CEO of two information technology companies in the US, has been arrested in connection with a multi-year visa-fraud scheme involving forged and fraudulent documents to get visas such as H-1B for over 200 foreign workers.
     
     
    Pradyumna Kumar Samal, 49, was taken into custody as he arrived from an international flight at Seattle airport.
     
     
    The criminal complaint describing the visa-fraud scheme was filed under seal in April 2018, soon after Samal fled the United States while the investigation was ongoing. He remained out of the country until this week when he was arrested by law enforcement. 
     
     
    The criminal complaint describes how two companies incorporated by Samal in 2010 and 2011 in Washington state engaged in a scheme sometimes referred to as a "bench-and-switch" scheme, to exploit foreign-national workers, compete unlawfully in the market, and defraud the US government.  
     
     
    According to the investigation that began in 2015, Samal served as the Chief Executive Officer of 'Divensi' and 'Azimetry' in Bellevue, near Seattle.
     
     
    Both companies were in the business of providing information-technology workers, such as Software Development Engineers, to major corporate clients.
     
     
    The complaint alleges that Samal submitted, and directed his employees to submit, forged and false application materials to the United States government, making it appear as if two corporate clients already had agreed to use several foreign-national employees named in the applications. However, neither client had agreed to do so.  
     
     
    The forged documents included forged letters and fraudulent statements of work, which appeared as if they had been signed by senior executives at the two clients. After the US Citizenship and Immigration Services relied on the false representations and approved the work visa applications, Samal's companies “benched” the foreign nationals, leaving those foreign nationals unpaid unless they were able to place those employees at actual end clients. 
     
     
    Nearly 200 workers may have been brought in under the phony applications. The employees were forced to pay Samal's companies a partially-refundable "security deposit" of as much as US$ 5,000 for the visa filings, regardless of whether they were assigned to any projects that provided them with income.
     
     
    Visa Fraud is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a US$ 250,000 fine. 

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Two Indian-Americans Win Congressional Primaries In California

    Two Indian-Americans Win Congressional Primaries In California
    Indian-American Congressmen Ami Bera and Ro Khanna won their respective primaries in California today and will run for the Congressional elections on November 6.

    Two Indian-Americans Win Congressional Primaries In California

    Michelin-Star Chef Hemant Mathur, Wife Open Indian Bistro In New York

    Michelin-Star Chef Hemant Mathur, Wife Open Indian Bistro In New York
    “We felt there is a need in the market for an Indian bistro. People want to eat Indian food that is not only authentic but also tastes like home-cooked food,” Sahni, Pastry Chef and Creative Director, told. 

    Michelin-Star Chef Hemant Mathur, Wife Open Indian Bistro In New York

    Indian-Origin Legal Eagle Tommy Thomas, To Be Malaysia's New Attorney General

    Indian-Origin Legal Eagle Tommy Thomas, To Be Malaysia's New Attorney General
    A palace statement said Sultan Muhammad V has approved terminating the current Attorney General Mohamad Apandi Ali and replacing him with Thomas, the first from the minority community to hold the post in 55 years in the Muslim-majority nation.

    Indian-Origin Legal Eagle Tommy Thomas, To Be Malaysia's New Attorney General

    US Supreme Court Rules For Colorado Baker In Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case

    US Supreme Court Rules For Colorado Baker In Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case
    The justices' decision turned on what the court described as anti-religious bias on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission when it ruled against baker Jack Phillips. The justices voted 7-2 that the commission violated Phillips' rights under the First Amendment.

    US Supreme Court Rules For Colorado Baker In Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case

    Fashion Designer Kate Spade Found Dead In New York In Apparent Suicide

    Fashion Designer Kate Spade Found Dead In New York In Apparent Suicide
    Law enforcement officials say New York fashion designer Kate Spade has been found dead in her apartment in an apparent suicide.

    Fashion Designer Kate Spade Found Dead In New York In Apparent Suicide

    Hafiz Saaed To Fight Pakistan Polls From Another Party As His Group Awaits Nod

    Hafiz Saaed To Fight Pakistan Polls From Another Party As His Group Awaits Nod
    Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), a front for the Lashkar-e- Taiba terrorist group that carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attack, launched its political front Milli Muslim League, but it has not been yet registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

    Hafiz Saaed To Fight Pakistan Polls From Another Party As His Group Awaits Nod