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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
July 1 , 2009
INDICTMENT UNSEALED CHARGING DEFENDANTS CONSPIRED TO FRAUDULENTLY OBTAIN H-1B VISA
Separate count charges violation of Bank Secrecy Act
TOPEKA, KAN. – An indictment has been unsealed charging three defendants with taking part in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain an H-1B visa, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.
Charged are Mahesh Kumar Gangineni, 34, Topeka, Kan., his wife, Komali Donavalli, 34, Topeka, and Sankar Rao Chava, 41, Littleton, Colo. Also named as defendants are two companies controlled by the defendants: Global Information Technology Services and Vaishnavi, Inc.
According to the indictment, Gangineni and Chava created false paperwork to make it appear than Gangineni, who owned a gas station in Topeka, was doing contract work as a computer programmer for Chava’s company, Global Information Technology Services, in Littleton, Colo.
Relying on Gangineni’s fictitious employment with GITS, Gangineni and Chava submitted fraudulent paperwork to the government seeking an H-1B visa for Gangineni. An H-1B visa provides workers who have specialized knowledge to reside in the United States while they are working and potentially to receive Legal Alien Permanent Residence status.
As part of the scheme, Chava mailed what appeared to be payroll checks, from Littleton, Colo., to Gangineni in Topeka. From Aug. 16, 2006, to Dec. 17, 2007, Chava sent 22 checks totaling $77,440 drawn on the accounts of his company, GITS, to Gangineni in Topeka.
During the same period, Gangineni’s wife, Komali Donavalli, wrote checks to Chava so that Chava would continue to support the ongoing visa fraud by mailing what appeared to be payroll checks to Gangineni. In return, Gangineni reimbursed Chava for the payroll checks by sending him checks from Gangineni’s company, Vaishnavi, Inc., in Topeka.
In a separate count, Gangineni and Donavalli are charged with structuring financial transactions totaling about $2 million at four Topeka banks to evade the Bank Secrecy Act requiring reports on transactions of $10,000 or more.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the conspiracy charge and a maximum penalty of 5 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of structuring transactions to evade making federal reports. The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
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