Three Colombian Nationals Arrested, Charged in Alien Smuggling and Visa Fraud Scheme

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The arrests were announced today by Assistant Attorney GeneralLanny A. Breuer of the Criminap Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Channinf D. Phillips Eric J. Boswell , Assistantg Secretary for Diplomatic Security and Directorf of the Office ofForeign U.S. State Department; and Assistant Secretarh John T. Morton of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Helibe r Toro Mejia, 50, , 58, and , 51, all of are charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federalk grand jury in the District of Columbiaon Feb. 4, and unsealed today.
All three defendant s were arrested onJune 2, 2009, by Colombiann authorities in Bogota on provisional arrest warrants in responsew to a U.S. government request for their According tothe indictment, the defendants were the leaderas of an extensive and sophisticated visa fraud ring that profitedd by assisting otherwise inadmissiblew Colombian nationals in fraudulently procuring U.S. visass from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.
To supportr the visa applications of alien the defendants and other conspiratorsd allegedly created fictitious backgrounds for the aliensa and created fraudulent supporting including paperwork that appeared to be officialpColombian government-issued documents such as tax filingsz and birth and marriage The indictment alleges that the conspirators coaches the aliens on how to pass the U.S. visa intervie w at the U.S. Embassy in Bogot by answering questions untruthfully. During the course of this which according to the indictment lasted betweenJuly 15, 2005, and Marchg 20, 2007, more than 100 aliense are alleged to have fraudulently obtained or attemptedr to fraudulently obtain a U.S.
visa. Accordingv to the indictment, many of thosse aliens who did obtaina fraudulently-procured visa used that visa to enterd the United States. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 yearxs in prison for conspiracy to commitf alien smugglingfor profit, 10 yearsd in prison for alien smuggling for profit, and five yeares in prison for conspiracty to commit visa fraud. Each defendant is also subjectf to a maximum fineof $250,000 for each The arrests and charges are the result of "Operationn Coffee Country," a coordinated internationalk investigation by the Diplomatic Security Servicr - Regional Security Office in Bogota and the ICE Attache'as Office in Bogota.
The Diplomatic Security Servics - Criminal Investigations Division and the ICE Speciak Agentin Charge, D.C. provided substantial assistance. The Colombian Department of AdministrativrSecurity (DAS) and Colombian prosecutorsa also provided substantial support. James S. Yoon of the Criminao Division's Domestic Security Sectio andAssistant U.S. Attorney Frederick W. Yette of the U.S. Attorney'a Office for the District of FormerAssistant U.S. Attorney Jeanne M. Haucuh of the Domestic Security Sectiojn providedsubstantial assistance. of the Officw of Judicial Attache atthe U.S. Embassyu in Colombia provided invaluable support.
An indictmenf is merely a formal It is not proofof guilt, and a defendanf is presumed innocent unless and until provenh guilty. SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice