600+ Indian Students In The US Face Prison, Deportation Over Immigration Fraud; Sting Op Caught Them

A certain ‘University of Farmington’ set up Farmington Hills, Michigan has been revealed to be a fake institution set up by undercover agents to expose an immigration fraud.

Hundreds of Indian students are on the verge of being deported or facing criminal charges.

Eight men or ‘recruiters,’ who are of Indian origin have been arrested for running this institute and enrolling a couple hundred students, 600 to be exact, who were deemed as ‘unqualified foreigners.’

Undercover Agents as Employees of University of Farmington

As per reports, Agents from Homeland Security Investigations had posed as the owners and employees of the University of Farmington since February 2017.

Barath Kakireddy, of Florida; Suresh Kandala, of Virginia; Phanideep Karnati, of Kentucky; Prem Rampeesa, of North Carolina; Santosh Sama, of California; Avinash Thakkallapally, of Pennsylvania; Aswanth Nune, of Georgia; and Naveen Prathipati, of Texas have all been charged with visa fraud and harboring aliens for profit, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Several students have been taken into custody by the agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at “5:00 am and thereabouts”, as per witnesses.

The Fake University of Farmington

This university was deemed as a ‘nationally accredited business and STEM institution,’ with an unusual curriculum, flexible classes and diverse student body.

But in reality, all of this was a hoax. There are no instructors, neither are there any classes. The authorities had arranged for a ‘pay to stay’ scheme, in which students enrolled themselves in this university to keep up the guise and maintain their student visa.

The university also has a real, working website that lists tuition fees programs and their details along with contact information. If anyone calls the given number, it reaches a voicemail box for the ‘office of admissions.

This website, which once showed information on the institute and photos of students has now been taken down.

All this was carried out secretly in order to catch an immigration fraud.

The ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said, “Each of the foreign citizens who ‘enrolled’ and made ‘tuition’ payments to the University knew that they would not attend any actual classes, earn credits, or make academic progress toward an actual degree in a particular field of study.” The students were well-informed that ‘discretion should be used when discussing the program with others.’

Apparently, the people who enrolled at the institute came with the intention of maintaining their student visa under false pretences and continue working illegally.

The Indian Embassy is in touch with the US consulates and working on how to provide help.

What do you think of this sting operation by the US? Share your opinions with us in the comments section!