DUBLIN, CA — Two Dublin residents pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced Friday.
Sampath Rajidi, 51, and Sreedhar Mada, 51, worked together in a fraudulent H-1B visa scheme.
Rajidi ran two businesses that serviced H-1B visas for foreign workers seeking temporary placement in various companies. Mada was Chief Information Officer for University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources in Davis, where he needed authorization to hire H-1B workers.
Together, the pair conspired to submit fake H-1B visa petitions for several beneficiaries between 2020 and 2023, according to prosecutors. Rajidi falsely claimed that beneficiaries would be working for the University of California, then Mada lent his name as CIO to give the scheme credibility. In reality, the positions did not exist. The visa beneficiaries did exist, but were instead marketed to clients other than UC.
"They submitted false information knowing such information was material to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decisions in granting visas," said prosecutors in a statement released by Grant's office.
Rajidi and Mada's actions gave them an unfair advantage over other firms and depleted the pool of H-1B visas available to competing firms.
Both are scheduled to be sentenced on July 30 and are facing up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
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