A federal jury has found five people guilty of conspiring to obtain fraudulent work visas for nearly 90 Indian nationals in exchange for at least $20,000 per visa, the US Attorney's Office said.
Mahendrakumar 'Mack' Patel, 55, Rakesh Patel, 36, Alberto Pena, 38, Bernardo Pena, 38, and Marte Othon Villar Sr, 48, encouraged and induced the illegal immigration of Indian nationals in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars per visa, a statement from the US Attorney's Office said on Friday.
The jury found that Alberto and Bernardo Pena, twin brothers from Brownsville, along with co-defendants had encouraged and induced 87 individuals from Gujarat to unlawfully enter US on temporary H-2B visas, knowing that the Indian nationals did not intend to work for the company that was used to get visas for them.
The brothers also knew that the visa-seekers did not intend to return to India when their 10-month visas expired, a statement said.
Pena twins also travelled to India to assist the Indian nationals with the application process and visited and corresponded with the US Consulate in Mumbai.
Two other co-defendants -- Mack Patel of Ft Worth and Rakesh Patel, a Houston pharmacist -- pleaded guilty for recruiting Indian citizens who were willing to pay $20,000 to $60,000 in exchange for visas to enter the United States.
None of the Indian nationals ever worked at the construction company for which they were recruited.
They also collected payments for the visas in the form of cash as well as cashier's checks and money orders from immigrants after their arrival in Houston.
Another co-defandant Charles Keith Viscardi, 48, the owner and manager of a construction company located in New Iberia, is alleged to have enlisted AMEB Business Group Inc -- a visa facilitation firm owned and operated by Pena brother -- to procure foreign manual labour under the H-2B visa program.
The scheme generated an estimated $1.8 million in profit for the conspirators.
An H-2B visa allows US employers to hire foreign workers for temporary non-agricultural work if the employer shows that there are no qualified US workers to perform the jobs.
Pena brothers, who will be sentenced on June 26, face a maximum penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine in connection with the conspiracy conviction and up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each of 14 counts of inducing in illegal immigration.
In addition, Bernardo Pena also faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine if convicted of money laundering for the purpose of concealment.
While Mack Patel and Alberto Pena both face up to 10 years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine if convicted of violating the money laundering spending statute.
Defendants Mack Patel and Rakesh Patel, who made their initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy on Thursday, were released on a $50,000 bond and will be electronically monitored for the pending trial.
They will appear before United States Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley on April 15.
Alberto Pena, who made his initial appearance before Judge Milloy on Friday, was released on a $50,000 bond and will also be subjected to electronic monitored pending trial.
Under the H-2B visa program only 66,000 visas are issued per year to work in US.
