H-1B fraudsters escape with penalty of only $236k, 3 years probation

[Newsjock]

Source: Computerworld

A federal H-1B fraud case against a New Jersey IT services firm has ended after two brothers that ran the company pleaded guilty to a felony charge.

Viswa Mandalapu, 43, president of Vision Systems Group, Inc., and Chandra Mandalapu, 40, an officer of the firm, were sentence to three years of probation. Each also paid a $100 special assessment after pleading guilty late last month to one count of unlawfully hiring aliens, the U.S. said in a statement on Friday.

... The company paid restitution of $236,250 to the United Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) as part of this agreement.

... The government's initial case against the company was much broader. It included a multi-count indictment and claims for $7.4 million in forfeited assets. ... The government's case ran into trouble over the conduct of its search of Vision Systems' electronic records. ... The defense challenged the searches, and the court ruled that the government had conducted "overly-inclusive" electronic searches.

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216694/Troubled_H_1B_fraud_case_ends_quietly_?taxonomyId=72