Two North Texans, a law firm and a business have been indicted on fraud and money laundering charges in connection with an alleged yearslong visa racket scheme.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas announced Friday that 39-year-old Abdul Hadi Murshid and 35-year-old Muhammad Salman Nasir, in conjunction with the Dallas-based Law Offices of D. Robert Jones and a business entity called Reliable Ventures Inc., were charged with visa fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering conspiracy, and unlawfully obtaining and attempting to obtain United States citizenship.
They also reportedly violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO laws, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
According to the indictment, the defendants participated in the alleged visa fraud scheme “to enrich themselves and others.”
The U.S. attorney’s office said they did this by first placing classified advertisements in a daily periodical for “non-existent jobs.” The advertisements were placed to satisfy a Department of Labor requirement of offering a position to United States citizens before hiring foreign nationals.
According to the indictment, to make the jobs appear legitimate, the defendants allegedly accepted payments from visa seekers and returned a portion of the money to them as purported payroll.
After receiving certification from the Department of Labor, the U.S. attorney’s office said the defendants then filed a petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to obtain visas, while simultaneously submitting applications for legal permanent residence so the visa seekers could also obtain a green card.
“The defendants allegedly oversaw an international criminal enterprise for years that repeatedly undermined our nation’s immigration laws,” FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said in a written statement. “These laws are necessary to protect national security and safeguard the lawful immigration process.
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners will hold any individual accountable that misuses their position of trust for personal profit.”
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 20 years in federal prison.