22 Charged, 1 Admits Guilt In Fake N.J. College Scam, Conspiring With 1,000 Foreign Nationals

Twenty-two brokers, recruiters and employers conspired with 1,000-plus foreign nationals to attend a purported New Jersey college, feds say.

Tom Davis, Patch Staff

Posted Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 1:34 pm ET|Updated Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 2:09 pm ET

The chief executive officer and managing director of two New Jersey companies this week admitted recruiting foreign nationals to enroll at a “pay-to-stay” New Jersey college in order to fraudulently maintain his clients’ student visa status and obtain full-time work authorizations without having to attend classes, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Tejesh Kodali, 45, of Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

On April 5, 22 brokers, recruiters and employers, including Kodali, were charged with conspiring with as many as 1,000 foreign nationals and enrolling them in the University of Northern New Jersey, a purported for-profit college located in Cranford (UNNJ).

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The UNNJ was created in September 2013 by a federal division of Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI. It was not staffed with instructors or educators, had no curriculum and conducted no actual classes or education activities. It operated solely as a storefront location staffed by federal agents posing as school administrators, according to a news release from Fishman.

The 22 suspects were arrested in New York, Washington, New Jersey and Virginia by special agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations in April, according to news releases.

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They were charged in 14 complaints involving conspiracy to commit visa fraud, conspiracy to harbor aliens for profit and other offenses.

"Pay to Stay" schemes damage the perception of legitimate student and foreign-worker visa programs, and pose "a very real threat" to national security, Fishman said in the release.

Kodali – an Indian citizen and lawful permanent resident in the United States – was the director of operations of Promatrix Corp. and Blue Cloud Techs Corp., which were purported international student recruiting and consulting companies located in Edison.

UNNJ represented itself as a school that, among other things, was authorized to issue a document known as a “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status - for Academic and Language Students,” commonly referred to as a Form I-20.

This document, which certifies that a foreign national has been accepted to a school and would be a full-time student, typically enables legitimate foreign students to obtain an F-1 student visa. With the visa, they can
enter or remain in the United States while they make normal progress toward the completion of a full course of study at a Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified institution.

Kodali told his foreign national clients that for a fee, they could enroll at UNNJ without having to attend any classes and that their enrollment would enable them to fraudulently maintain their non-immigrant status, according to the release.

With full knowledge that the recruits were not bona fide students and would not attend any courses, earn credits or make academic progress toward any legitimate degree at UNNJ, Kodali caused Forms I-20 to be issued to the foreign nationals.

Kodali also caused the foreign nationals to be reported in government databases as legitimate foreign students. In order to deceive immigration officials, Kodali and his foreign clients obtained and created fraudulent student documents, including attendance records and transcripts.

After enabling them to maintain their student visa status, Kodali also conspired to secure fraudulent work authorizations for some of their foreign clients. He admitted that his intention was to profit from the scheme by outsourcing these foreign individuals through Promatrix and Blue Techs as information technology consultants with various businesses in the United States for commissions.

In total, Kodali and his conspirators fraudulently maintained and attempted to obtain 37 student
visas and/or work authorizations.

The conspiracy to commit visa fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for Kodali is scheduled for March 13, 2017.

According to the complaints unsealed Tuesday and statements made in court:

All of the defendants, many of whom operated recruiting companies for purported international students, were arrested earlier this year for their involvement in the alleged scheme to enroll foreign nationals as students in the University of Northern New Jersey.

Not known to the defendants and the foreign nationals involved in the scam, however, the "UNNJ" was created in September 2013 by HSI federal agents, according to the release (see photo of the college's website).

The website was active until April.

Through the UNNJ, undercover HSI agents investigated criminal activities associated with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), including student visa fraud and the harboring of aliens for profit, according to the release.

The UNNJ was not staffed with instructors or educators, had no curriculum and conducted no actual classes or education activities. The UNNJ operated solely as a storefront location with small offices staffed by federal agents posing as school administrators, according to the release.

The list below outlines the charges for each defendant. The charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and making a false statement each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges of conspiracy to harbor aliens for profit and H1-B Visa fraud each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine.

Jun Shen, a/k/a “Jeanette Shen,” 32, Levittown, New York

– Conspiracy to commit visa fraud