Two Pakistani-origin men have been arrested for allegedly running a multi-year immigration fraud and money laundering racket, which involved fake jobs and fraudulent visa applications.
The two arrested men were identified as Abdul Hadi Murshid, 39, and Muhammad Salman Nasir, 35.
They are residents of Texas state.
“Two Texas residents, Abdul Hadi Murshid, 39, and Muhammad Salman Nasir, 35, both originally from Pakistan, a law firm, and a business entity were charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States, visa fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) conspiracy, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham,” US Attorney’s Office, Nrthern District of Texas, said in a statement.
Murshid and Nasir were also charged with unlawfully obtaining and attempting to obtain United States citizenship.
According to the indictment, Abdul Hadi Murshid, Muhammad Salman Nasir, the Law Offices of D. Robert Jones PLLC, and Reliable Ventures, Inc. engaged in a scheme to commit visa fraud to enrich themselves and others, and to cause individuals to fraudulently obtain entry into and immigration status in the United States.
“It is alleged that Murshid, Nasir, and others submitted and caused to be submitted false and fraudulent visa applications for individuals who were not United States citizens (hereinafter referred to as “visa seekers”), and applications to adjust status of the visa seekers so the visa seekers could enter and remain in the United States,” the statement said.
Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham said: “These defendants are charged with engaging in extensive measures to hide a massive, multi-year, immigration fraud scheme through which they reaped substantial personal financial gain.”
“Pursuing criminal charges to deter and punish this type of flagrant disregard for the lawful immigration process is a top priority of this Office,” Meacham said.
FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said: “The defendants allegedly oversaw an international criminal enterprise for years that repeatedly undermined our nation’s immigration laws. These laws are necessary to protect national security and safeguard the lawful immigration process.”
Visa Fraud
As part of the scheme, the indictment alleges that the defendants exploited the EB-2, EB-3, and H-1B visa programs.
Specifically, the defendants caused classified advertisements to be placed in a daily periodical for non-existent jobs.
These advertisements were placed in order to satisfy a Department of Labor (“DOL”) requirement to offer the position to United States citizens before hiring foreign nationals.
Once they received the fraudulently obtained certification for from the Department of Labor, the defendants filed a petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to obtain an immigrant visa for the visa seekers.
At the time the petitions were submitted, the defendants also submitted an application for legal permanent residence so that the visa seekers could also obtain a green card.
According to the indictment, to make the non-existent jobs look legitimate, the defendants received payment from visa seekers, then returned a portion of the money back to the visa seekers as purported payroll.
Kash Patel Reacts
FBI Director Kash Patel prasied his team for arresting the two Pakistani-origin men for their involvement in the crime.
He wrote on X: ” Major arrests out of @FBIDallas .”
“Abdul Hadi Murshid and Muhammad Salman Nasir — two individuals out of Texas who allegedly oversaw and operated a criminal enterprise circumventing American immigration laws by selling fraudulent visa applications,” he said.
“Well done to our FBI teams and partners in the investigation,” the official said.
(With inputs from IBNS)
