Ex-Garland ISD official pleads guilty to H-1B visa scam that lured hundreds of immigrant teachers
GARLAND — A top former Garland ISD official has pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to abuse federal work visas to recruit hundreds of teachers.
Victor Leos, who was the school district's human resources director, admitted in March that he received kickbacks, travel and other benefits while using H-1B visas to attract bilingual teachers from other countries.
According to court documents, Leos was approached by recruiters in 2003-04 who specialized in finding specialty-skilled teachers from the Philippines and Latin America.
"By the time Leos was promoted" to executive HR director in 2007, "the relationships had become a criminal conspiracy to recruit foreign teachers that GISD did not necessarily need," court documents state.
As part of his plea agreement, Leos agreed to provide information about his participation in the scheme. He also promised to pay $317,483 in restitution to the district.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2017/04/10/ex-garland-isd-official-pleadsguilty-work-visa-scheme-lured-hundreds-immigrant-teachers
