Tri-Valley University head indicted in visa fraud

Washington: The president of the California-based Tri-Valley
University, whose closure affected nearly 1,500 Indian students, has
been indicted by a federal grand jury on the allegations of visa fraud
and money laundering.

Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, was taken into custody Monday morning at her
Pleasanton, California, home by special agents of the Homeland
Security Investigations of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE).

Su, who also served as the school's chief executive officer, is
accused of engaging in a two-year scheme to defraud the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) by submitting phony documents in support of
Tri-Valley University's applications to admit foreign nationals on
student visas.

The indictment further alleges that after obtaining such approvals, Su
fraudulently issued visa-related documents to students in exchange for
"tuition and fees" and engaged in multiple money laundering
transactions totaling more than $3.2 million.

"Today's indictment alleges a visa fraud scheme through which the
defendant accrued millions of dollars and took advantage of others'
eagerness to come to the United States," said US attorney Melinda
Haag.

The 33 counts contained in the indictment carry maximum penalties
ranging from one to 20 years imprisonment.

The charges include wire fraud; mail fraud; visa fraud and conspiracy
to commit visa fraud; use of a false document; making false statements
to a government agency; alien harboring; unauthorized access to a
government computer and money laundering.

According to a federal complaint filed in a California court in
January, the TVU had helped foreign nationals illegally acquire
immigration status.

The sham university is said to have 1,555 students. As many as 95
percent of these students are Indian nationals, the complaint said.

Investigations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have
found that while students were admitted to various residential and
online courses of the university and on paper lived in California, but
in reality they "illegally" worked in various parts of the country as
far as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas. IANS