A Manchester man has been fined $40,000 for filing false visa applications.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says Rohit Saksena, 42, runs a staffing company that specializes in connecting American companies with skilled foreign IT workers through the H-1B visa program.
Between 2014 and 2015, Saksena filed 45 of these visa applications, claiming he was doing so on behalf of a Cupertino, California company which requested these workers. That company, however, had no knowledge of these applications. Saksena was instead placing foreign workers with other companies.
“It’s a serious crime, because, you want to protect the integrity of these programs. Ultimately, they depend on people being honest,” says Mark Zuckerman, who prosecuted the case. While neither the foreign workers nor the California company were defrauded, Saksena pled guilty to deceiving federal immigration authorities.
“It’s a very important program. A lot of industries, frankly, rely on it. And when it gets subverted like this, it makes it that much more difficult to administer,” says Zuckerman.
Many of the fraudulent visa applications were denied once Saksena’s fraud came to light, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
A call to Saksena’s company, Saks IT Group, went unanswered. Along with the fine, he is to serve three years probation.
