Immigration Fraud

A federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Amber Ming Ding to nine years in prison and ordered her to pay $795,000 in restitution after she pleaded guilty in December to charges that included mail fraud, making false statements in immigration applications, conspiracy, and money laundering.^[1] The charges to which Ms. Ding pleaded guilty are transnational crimes, criminalized by 18 U.S.C. § 1341, 18 U.S.C. § 1546, 18 U.S.C. § 371, and 18 U.S.C. § 1956 respectively.

She was accused of promising immigrants that she could secure legal status for them by submitting L-1 visa applications, which are issued to employees of subsidiaries of foreign companies; most of the businesses listed on the applications, however, were nonexistent or non-operational.[2]

Mail Fraud
We have previously discussed mail fraud in conjunction with an international check scheme, here.

False Statements in Immigration Applications
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1546, it is a crime for a person to knowingly make under oath, or under penalty of perjury, any false statement of material fact in any application required by the immigration laws. It is also a crime to knowingly present such an application to authorities if it contains false statements.

A violation of section 1546 can result in a fine, punishment of up to 25 years in prison, or both.

Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 371 makes it a crime for two or more people to conspire to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States. One of the persons must do an act in furtherance of the conspiracy for criminal liability to apply.

The punishment for a violation of section 371 is a fine, imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

Money Laundering
We discussed money laundering when we discussed Alexander Yakovlev’s guilty pleas in the Oil-for-Food scandal investigation, here.

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[1] Federal Judge in LA Sentences Woman for Immigration Scam, Associated Press, Aug. 15, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.