Visa Fraud in VietNam

[MarkandLeigh]

Big news in Seattle. A ring of 5 people have been arrested for Visa Fraud. They were charging women in Viet Nam $20,000 American dollars to come over to the US. These people recruited "fiances" in casinos, promising $1000 and a free trip to Viet Nam to carry out the scam. Evidently they have uncovered 130 so far that have made the trip. The ringleaders have been arrested. All the VietNam fiances are subject to deportation. Involved American people may be prosecuted as well.

Unfortunately, this may have pressures on all of our cases. See SeattleTimes.com for more info.

Mark

[MarkandLeigh]

Here's the article....

Thursday, December 09, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

 

Alleged leaders are charged in marriage scam

 

By Maureen O'Hagan

Seattle Times staff reporter

 

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A free trip to Vietnam and about a thousand bucks was all it took to convince a number of local casino employees to pretend to be married to Vietnamese immigrants, according to a federal indictment.

Four alleged ringleaders of the scheme were charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle with conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

 

The indictment alleges the four, plus two others still at large, helped bring Vietnamese nationals to the U.S. by falsely claiming they were engaged to Americans. They recruited the American "spouses" among their colleagues at local casinos and elsewhere, prosecutors said.

 

All told, as many as 130 Americans agreed to be part of the scheme, according to the indictment.

 

"The lure of easy money and overseas travel was too great and the organization capitalized on that," said Mike McCool, the assistant special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle.

 

For the Vietnamese brides- and grooms-to-be, the deal was much more costly, running $20,000 to $30,000 for a phony visa.

 

The scheme came to light because of an anonymous tip to the State Department, according to Thomas K. Depenbrock, special agent in charge of the department's San Francisco field office.

 

Arraigned yesterday were Phuoc Huu Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C., and Monica Nguyen, Amanda Nguyen and Everett Ledbetter of Lynnwood. Loc Huu Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C., and Richard E. Anderson of Seattle remain at large.

 

The alleged ringleaders took care of all the details. According to court documents, they arranged for the Americans' passports, accompanied them to Vietnam and introduced them to their "spouses."

 

They also asked the Americans to write letters to their spouses-to-be showing their affection, and took them to tourist spots for photos together. That's because U.S. authorities require evidence that a marriage isn't a sham before they issue a visa to a fiancé.

 

But they were still concerned, according to court documents.

 

 

 

 

"The problem lies with proof," Phuoc Huu Nguyen wrote in an e-mail to a co-conspirator, noting that the would-be spouses were barely able to speak English and converse with their alleged fiancés.

 

Some of the American recruits backed out along the way and say they were threatened, court papers say.

 

In other cases, sham marriages were performed in Washington, although it's unclear how many. Officials are still trying to determine the extent of the scheme, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas B. Whalley, who said that the evidence is "a prosecutor's dream." That's because the federal government has records of passport activity and visa applications, he said.

 

Those records are being combed for evidence of other participants, but so far, they've identified 130 possible suspects.

 

"I suspect that when words get out, there are going to be 130 people who are really nervous," Whalley said.

 

So far, none of the recruits has been charged. The Vietnamese who came to the U.S. under false pretenses are subject to deportation.

 

The six alleged ringleaders are facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

 

 

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Here's the link to the article:

 

Alleged leaders are charged in marriage scam

 

Geeeeez, those Vietnamese "fiancees" paid $20,000 to $30,000 for a phony visa, that's big money!!!! No wonder why the system is frought with scams, shams, and scandals. Anytime there is a person willing to pay that much money just for the chance to come and live in America, there is going to be things like this happening.

 

The sad thing is ... probably most of those Vietnamese nationals who paid that much money to come to America are in for BIG disappointment ... America ain't all that!! And where do these folks get all this money??? That's a ton of money, even by American standards.

 

And it's these bad apples that make it so difficult for the rest of us

[lele]

Here's the link to the article:

 

Alleged leaders are charged in marriage scam

 

Geeeeez, those Vietnamese "fiancees" paid $20,000 to $30,000 for a phony visa, that's big money!!!!  No wonder why the system is frought with scams, shams, and scandals.  Anytime there is a person willing to pay that much money just for the chance to come and live in America, there is going to be things like this happening.

 

The sad thing is ... probably most of those Vietnamese nationals who paid that much money to come to America are in for BIG disappointment ... America ain't all that!!  And where do these folks get all this money???  That's a ton of money, even by American standards.

 

And it's these bad apples that make it so difficult for the rest of us 

A very sad story for our cases to come out now. *sigh*

 

I also feel for the people involved.

 

It is *very* common for snakeheads to take people into the US via container ships from the Philippians, Thailand, China (this was more common in the 1980's and 1970's), etc. And these people usually charge 40,000$US to do it (at least back in 1990 this was the number recently reported by an independent film which was done following the lives of three of these people who came to the US in 1990).

 

130 may seem like a large number, but compared to the other scams out there, it is quite small. I feel for us, since we may suffer. I also feel for the families of these people. Often times, the money (which in Vietnam is about a full lifetime's wealth accumulation by a person) is begotten through extended family members all pooling what they have, and placing their lives into semi-slavery to the thugs, until the debt is paid off at ever-increasing interest rates.

 

**sigh**

 

Thank you for sharing this sad story...

[MoonCarolCafe]

"The problem lies with proof," Phuoc Huu Nguyen wrote in an e-mail to a co-conspirator, noting that the would-be spouses were barely able to speak English and converse with their alleged fiancés.

 

Ahem.

[DaveR]

As a casino employee who works with several Vietnamese, I can say this does not surprise me. I know when I told some of them I was going to China, to meet my fiancee many said they could introduce me to a relative from Vietnam. Some even said they would pay me up to $10,000 to $15,000 to marry a relative. It seems that the family in the US gets together and contributes to the fund. The catch is after she gets her permanent green card, she goes to live with the family. It is only a fraud marriage.

 

One Vietnamese lady introduced her niece to one of the man at work around the same time I started the visa process. They told me it would only take them 6 months to complete the K-1 process. They still are no further along than we are. But he really does not know much about the process, he says the lawyer is handling everything and he just signs paperwork when they tell him too.

 

I never wanted to be involved with any of this and after finding such a wonderful woman in my fiancee, I am glad I stuck by my morals. But it does show that there is fraud in other countries not just China. So they need to look hard at the process in those counties too.

 

Dave