E-Paper
Ghost jobs, real visas: How two Indian-origin men committed H-1B fraud in the US
Sampath Rajidi and Sreedhar Mada used fake job offers linked to the University of California to secure work permits for foreigners.
Two Indian-origin men in the US have admitted to orchestrating a multi-year H-1B visa fraud scheme, according to the US Justice Department. Sampath Rajidi and Sreedhar Mada, both 51, used fake job offers linked to the University of California to secure work permits for foreign nationals.
The two men, residents of California’s Dublin, pleaded guilty on Thursday to committing visa fraud, according to US Attorney Eric Grant. They face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 ( ₹2.33 crore) fine.
Court documents show that Rajidi operated two visa services companies, S-Team Software Inc and Uptrend Technologies LLC, through which he sponsored foreign workers for H-1B specialty occupation visas.
Mada served as Chief Information Officer at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) in Davis, a position that gave him supervisory authority but did not allow him to independently hire H-1B workers.
The duo conspired to submit fraudulent H-1B petitions for multiple beneficiaries between 2020 and 2023. Prosecutors said Rajidi falsely claimed in the applications that the workers would be employed in roles at the University of California, while Mada lent his name and official designation to make the claims seem credible.
The fake submissions included information material to decisions made by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It allowed the accused to gain an unfair advantage over competing firms while also reducing the pool of H-1B visas available to legitimate applicants.
Investigators found that the positions listed in the petitions did not exist and the beneficiaries never worked on any University of California projects. After securing visas based on false representations, the accused marketed these workers to other clients, the justice department statement read.
Rajidi and Mada are scheduled to be sentenced on July 30, by US District Judge Troy L Nunley.
