Pakistani Man Sentenced For Visa Fraud

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Naeem Maqbool, 46, a citizen of Pakistan and resident of Canada, who was convicted of visa fraud, was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Lamarque, who handled the case, stated that on September 6, 2016, at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry, the defendant presented a Pakistani passport which contained a United States non-immigrant visitor visa that had been secured by fraud. Maqbool, a commercial air pilot who had previously been denied visas on multiple occasions, was granted the visa after providing false information on that visa application. The defendant wanted to work in the United States and lied so that United States authorities would not find out about his prior visa denials. Maqbool was also in possession of a counterfeit Pakistani passport that was a high quality copy of an expired passport that had been altered to conceal travel to the Middle East.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by United States Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Rose Hilmey, Director of Field Operations.