FBI arrests two Pakistani nationals for visa fraud, money laundering in US

A major immigration scam that was going on for years was busted by the FBI recently where Two Pakistani men based out of Texas placed classified advertisements for fake jobs.

FBI director Kash Patel said that the accused were identified as Abdul Hadi Murshid, 39, and Muhammad Salman Nasir, 35. He added that a law firm and a business entity have been indicted for the visa fraud scheme. The law firm and the business entity are the law officers of D Robert Jones PLLC and Reliable Ventures, Inc.

"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. Well done to our FBI teams and partners in the investigation," Kash Patel posted.

What the fraud was about

The indictment mentions that the accused exploited the EB-2, EB-3, and H-1B visa programs by placing classified ads for fake jobs to satisfy Department of Labor requirements.

Even though there were no jobs, the ads helped them get labour certifications. They then submitted petitions with the USCIS for visas. When the petitions were submitted, the defendants also produced 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.

FBI calls it 'international crime'

The two Pakistani-origin men were the masterminds of the fraudulent operations. However, the FBI called it an international crime as they ran an international criminal enterprise for years.

"The defendants allegedly oversaw an international criminal enterprise for years that repeatedly undermined our nation's immigration laws," FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said in the release.

"These laws are necessary to protect national security and safeguard the lawful immigration process. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will hold any individual accountable that misuses their position of trust for personal profit."

Apart from FBI, the DHS, the USCIS, the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of Labor Office were part of the investigation.