Feds set up fake university, charge 21 brokers, recruiters and employers in visa-fraud sting
In what is being billed as a first-of-a-kind sting operation, a fake university set up by the feds resulted in criminal charges against 21 brokers, recruiters and employers in an alleged student and foreign worker visa fraud conspiracy.
The University of Northern New Jersey purportedly operated out of an office building in Cranford. But it had no faculty and offered no classes—as brokers, recruiters and employers knew, contends the U.S. Attorney’s office for New Jersey in a Justice Department news release announcing the arrests of the defendants on Tuesday. Their names and the charges against them are listed at the bottom of the release.
Instead, the Department of Homeland Security agents operating the “university” made it possible for the defendants to sign up foreign nationals as purported students and thus qualify them for U.S. visas, the release explains. “The defendants also facilitated the creation of hundreds of false student records, including transcripts, attendance records, and diplomas, which were purchased by their foreign national conspirators for the purpose of deceiving immigration authorities,” it states.
Alternatively, some of the individuals who paid the defendants for their services claimed to be working on information technology projects at the school, thus qualifying for foreign worker visas, the feds say.
No charges have been brought, at this time, against more than 1,000 individuals who are accused of participating in the conspiracy and claiming such status in order to try to legalize their presence in the U.S. However, they are being pursued in removal proceedings, according to the release.
An official-looking website and state accreditation helped UNNJ appear legitimate, the Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) reports. But the school’s social media presence—which included photos of supposed students and Facebook posts by purported president Steven Brunetti—were the icing on the cake.
At one point UNNJ announced the death of his mother, which sparked condolence messages.
“As the complaints allege, these defendants arranged to obtain visas by having individuals enroll in a fake university,” said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman at a Tuesday news conference. “Unfortunately for them, that fake university was run by undercover agents of the Department of Homeland Security.”
He said all of the recruited UNNJ students were already here in the U.S., often as students who had attended other schools. But they participated in the claimed conspiracy in order to remain legally in the country, according to the Bergen Record and the New York Times (reg. req.).
Attorney Michael Horn represents one of the individuals facing criminal charges. “All the defendants were pretty stunned about the charges,” he told the Times, adding: “They’re hopeful the truth will come out.”
The New York Daily News and the Washington Post (reg. req.) also have stories about the sting.
