Tracy Man Gets 3 Years In Prison For Visa Fraud, Identity Theft

TRACY, CA — A Tracy man was sentenced last week to three years in prison and ordered to pay $1.2 million, after a jury found him guilty of visa fraud and identity theft. Abhijit Prasad, 52, immediately began serving his sentence after Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California issued his sentence Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Prasad fraudulently filed 19 petitions for nonimmigrant visas made under penalty of perjury, claiming they were for California work projects, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. He forged the digital signature of a Cisco Systems employee and fraudulently obtained two H-1B visas this way, prosecutors say.

Cisco did not expect foreign workers who received the visas to complete any work projects for them, prosecutors say.

H-1B visas are for temporary workers in specialty jobs, distinguished fashion models or working for U.S. Department of Defense-administered projects. Workers may stay up to three years and must obtain the visa by having an employer or agent file on their behalf.

In August a jury found him guilty of 19 counts of visa fraud, two counts of fraudulently obtaining foreign visas and two counts of aggravated identity theft.