30 Months For Edison, N.J. Man In Cash-For-Visas Scheme
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A man was sentenced to 30 months in prison Tuesday, after admitting to running an eight-year illegal scheme to get natives of India into the United States.
A U.S. District Court judge in Newark handed down the sentence for Sandipkumar Patel.
Prosecutors say the 42-year-old Edison resident was paid thousands of dollars by the Indian immigrants to lie on visa applications that he would provide jobs for them in technical positions at various New Jersey companies. They say Patel issued payroll checks and forced the immigrants to pay the proceeds back to him.
Patel also overstated his payroll expenses on federal tax returns and underreported his tax obligation by more than $400,000.
Patel pleaded guilty to conspiracy and filing a false federal tax return. He's required to pay back the IRS the underreported taxes.
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