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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

New Haven Man Lies About Knowing Terrorist Associates During Citizenship Process New Haven Man Lies About Knowing Terrorist Associates During Citizenship Process
New Haven Man Lies About Knowing Terrorist Associates During Citizenship Process A 33-year-old Connecticut man has admitted to lying about knowing anyone involved with a terrorist organization during his citizenship process, federal officials announced.  New Haven resident Mohamed Najm Kamash, also known as Mohamed Najm Mohamed Ali Kamash, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 25 to making a false statement in a naturalization proceeding, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced on Tuesday, March 26.  According to federal officials, Kamash immigrated to the IS from Iraq in 2014 and became a lawful permanent resident.  O…
NJ Attorney, Son Charged With Ripping Off Hundreds Of Immigrants In Bronx NJ Attorney, Son Charged With Ripping Off Hundreds Of Immigrants In Bronx
NJ Attorney, Son Charged With Ripping Off Hundreds Of Immigrants In Bronx Homeland Security agents smashed an operation run by a New Jersey father and son who for years fooled hundreds of immigrants living in the Bronx into paying thousands of dollars for services that only got many of them deported, authorities said. Instead of legitimately fast-tracking their clients’ bids for legal U.S. residency, attorney Kofi Amankwaa and his son, Kofi Jr., filed false petitions to the federal government claiming that the immigrants’ children had abused them, authorities said. All this did, they said, was put the applicants on immigration officials’ radar, leading to green c…
Reading Man Learns His Fate For Fathering Two Kids With 12-Year-Old Girl Reading Man Learns His Fate For Fathering Two Kids With 12-Year-Old Girl
Reading Man Learns His Fate For Fathering Two Kids With 12-Year-Old Girl A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Tuesday, July 26 for repeatedly leaving the country to have a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old girl, with whom he later fathered two children, federal authorities said. Valentin Ortiz, 73, of Reading, was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $10,000 restitution, United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said. Ortiz was convicted in November 2021 of one count of travel in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and two counts o…
VISA FRAUD: NJ Lawyer Busted By Feds In Undercover Sting VISA FRAUD: NJ Lawyer Busted By Feds In Undercover Sting
Visa Fraud: NJ Lawyer Busted By Feds In Undercover Sting A New Jersey attorney who lives in Pennsylvania was arrested by federal agents after he submitted a false visa application for a client who turned out to be a government informant, authorities said. Steven G. Thomas, 52, of New Hope, PA had been encouraging clients to apply for asylum under false pretenses, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Thomas, who operates a law firm in Montgomery Township, told them how they'd mostly succeed in their applications even though he knew full well that they didn't qualify, Sellinger said. Then he "prepared or cau…
Former Resident In Region Sentenced For Charges Related To Sham Marriage Former Resident In Region Sentenced For Charges Related To Sham Marriage
Former Resident In Region Sentenced For Charges Related To Sham Marriage A former Western Massachusetts resident has been sentenced for entering into a sham marriage to obtain immigration benefits for another person. Phu Thanh Huynh, age 33, formerly of Springfield, has been sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $20,000 forfeiture after admitting to marrying a Vietnamese national in 2013. In September 2013, federal prosecutors said that Huynh married a Vietnamese national, referred to as Jane Doe, solely for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefits for Doe, never living together after the sham marriage. In late 2013 or early 2014, Huynh w…
Former Western Mass Resident Admits To Sham Marriage Former Western Mass Resident Admits To Sham Marriage
Former Western Mass Resident Admits To Sham Marriage A former area resident man has pleaded guilty in connection with entering into a sham marriage in order to obtain immigration benefits for another person. Phu Thanh Huynh, age 33, formerly of Springfield, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Aug. 4, married a Vietnamese national, referred to as Jane Doe in September 2018, solely for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefits for Doe, said the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. According to the US Attorney, Huynh and Doe never lived together after getting married, and that a co-conspirator paid Huynh $20,000 in cash …
Long Island Woman Accused Of Defrauding Undocumented Immigrants Long Island Woman Accused Of Defrauding Undocumented Immigrants
Long Island Woman Accused Of Defrauding Undocumented Immigrants A local and federal investigation into a Long Island woman who posed as an immigration attorney to undocumented immigrants and bilked them out of thousands is facing a host of charges, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office announced. Suffolk County resident Tania Gonzalez, age 44, of Ronkonkoma, was arrested after she allegedly misrepresented herself as an immigration attorney to undocumented immigrants seeking assistance with immigration matters and stole more than $30,000 from the victims. The arrest came following a joint investigation by the Nassau County District Attorney, US De…
Proposed Bill Says PA High School Students Would Need To Pass Civics Test To Graduate Proposed Bill Says PA High School Students Would Need To Pass Civics Test To Graduate
Proposed Bill Says PA High School Students Would Need To Pass Civics Test To Graduate A bill proposed in the Pennsylvania House would require all high school students to pass a civics test. "Alarming decline in civics knowledge among young Americans," was the motivation for her new proposal, says Rep. Karen Boback, Republican from Luzerne. The test Boback is proposing would include questions from the US citizenship exam issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. High School students would be allowed to take the test as many times as is necessary to attain a passing grade, according to a March 24 memo Boback wrote to her fellow legislators when seeking co-sponsor…
Long Island Man Accused Of Smuggling Vietnamese Nationals To Work At Nail Salons Long Island Man Accused Of Smuggling Vietnamese Nationals To Work At Nail Salons
Long Island Man Accused Of Smuggling Vietnamese Nationals To Work At Nail Salons A Long Island man is facing charges for allegedly smuggling Vietnamese nationals into the country to work on the cheap at nail salons he and a co-conspirator operated in New York. Hicksville resident Manh Ngoc Nguyen and Bronx resident Dat Tat Ho were charged in federal court in Central Islip for allegedly conspiring to defraud the government and smuggling illegal aliens into the country. Nguyen and Ho owned or managed several nail and hair salons on Long Island, Queens, and in the Bronx. It is alleged that between January 2017 and September this year, the two arranged for Vietnamese fore…
Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program
Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program A Middlesex County staffing firm has agreed to pony up $345,000 to settle federal allegations that it underpaid highly-skilled foreign nationals who were brought to the U.S. to work under a special visa program currently under fire from the Trump Administration. Edison-based Savantis Solutions didn’t admit or deny the Justice Department’s allegations, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. Instead, it agreed to pay back wages and interest to current and former company employees who entered the United States on H-1B visas. Although federal authorities didn’t specify their nation…
Fairfield County Woman Among Two Charged With Running Marriage Fraud Scheme Fairfield County Woman Among Two Charged With Running Marriage Fraud Scheme
Fairfield County Woman Among Two Charged With Running Marriage Fraud Scheme A 14-count indictment was unsealed on Friday detailing charges against two Connecticut residents, including one from Fairfield County, accused of operating an extensive immigration marriage fraud scheme, the U.S. Justice Department said.  Jodian Stephenson, 34, of Bridgeport --also known as “Jodian Gordon,” and Donovan Lawrence, 62, of Milford, were charged, according to John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, and Christopher W. Fonda, Supervisory Immigration Officer for …
3 Children Left Behind As Clifton Parents Deported To Albania 3 Children Left Behind As Clifton Parents Deported To Albania
3 Children Left Behind As Clifton Parents Deported To Albania Three Clifton children were forced to say goodbye to their parents who were recently deported by immigration officials to Albania. Neta Pukri on Tuesday was placed on a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport and her husband Vitor was sent in March, NorthJersey.com reports. More than $5,500 had been raised for the Pukri family as of Wednesday on a GoFundMe. Vitor Pukri was deported in March, and then his wife, Neta, was arrested while waiting for him at the airport. She was being held in Hudson County Jail up until Tuesday evening, when she was forced on a plane at Newark Liberty …
Ex-Fairfield County Resident Sentenced For Immigration Fraud Scheme Ex-Fairfield County Resident Sentenced For Immigration Fraud Scheme
Ex-Fairfield County Resident Sentenced For Immigration Fraud Scheme A former Fairfield County resident who is a citizen of the Republic of Georgia is going to spend six months behind bars after being sentenced in federal court to operating an “extensive” immigration fraud scheme. United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham announced that 53-year-old David Nikolahvili, who was residing in Queens, has been sentenced to six months in prison and two years of post supervised released after pleading guilty to one count of making a false swearing in an immigration matter in July last year. Nikolahvili must also pay a $12,000 fine. Durham sai…