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San Diego County News

Independent publication serving San Diego County

Milwaukee man from India found guilty in religious worker visa fraud scheme

November 16, 2011 By sdcnews

MILWAUKEE–A  religious leader from India,  who founded a local Hindu temple, was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining and  then selling religious worker visas to Indian nationals. The guilty verdict  stems from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs  Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

On Nov. 10, a  federal jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin found Sagarsen Haldar, 31, aka  Gopal Hari Das, guilty of conspiring to commit immigration fraud. Haldar identifies  himself as the founder, president, CEO, and spiritual leader of Gaudiya  Vaisnava Society (GVS), a religious temple located at 2425 W. Ramsey Ave. in Milwaukee.

According to  evidence at trial, Haldar conspired to sponsor more than two dozen Indian  nationals to enter the country under religious worker or “R-1” visas. Typically,  the R-1 applications falsely stated that the individuals were religious workers  from India who planned to be  priests and perform religious work at the GVS temple in Milwaukee. In fact, the Indian nationals had  no religious training or experience, and had no intention of being priests or  performing religious work once they arrived in the United States.

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Haldar was  charged in June 2010 after ICE HSI agents arrested him at O’Hare International  Airport in Chicago as he arrived in the United States from India. Searches of Haldar’s luggage  revealed that he was transporting identification documents – including  passports and other Indian identification documents – bearing the names and  photographs of other Indian nationals. The arrest was the culmination of a  lengthy investigation into Haldar and GVS.

The  investigation into Haldar began in June 2008 after ICE HSI received information  from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Benefit  Fraud Unit that GVS had filed numerous petitions for R-1 religious workers from  India.  Subsequent ICE HSI investigation revealed that Haldar used the GVS temple as a  front for an elaborate religious visa fraud scheme.

In the  scheme, Haldar charged Indian nationals as much as $30,000 each in exchange for  his assistance in fraudulently obtaining R-1 visas. The fraudulent priests  typically made substantial cash payments to Haldar and his associates in India, and were indebted to Haldar for the  balance once they arrived in the United States. They worked at convenience  stores and other Milwaukee-area locations, and paid Haldar from what they  earned.

“We are extremely gratified with the jury’s guilty  verdict in this case,” said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of ICE’s  Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago.  “Visa fraud represents a vulnerability that could be exploited by criminals or  others who wish to do us harm. HSI will continue to aggressively investigate  individuals and organizations that seek to corrupt and exploit our nation’s  immigration system.”

ICE HSI was  assisted in the investigation by USCIS. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory  J. Haanstad, Eastern District of Wisconsin, prosecuted this case. Sentencing is  scheduled for Feb. 24.

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