A federal jury has found five people guilty of conspiring to obtain fraudulent work visas for nearly 90 Indian nationals in exchange for at least $20,000 per visa, the US Attorney's Office said.
Mahendrakumar "Mack" Patel, 55, Rakesh Patel, 36, Alberto Pena, 38, Bernardo Pena, 38, and Marte Othon Villar Sr, 48, encouraged and induced the illegal immigration of Indian nationals in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars per visa, a statement from the US Attorney's Office said on Friday.
The jury found that Alberto and Bernardo Pena, twin brothers from Brownsville, along with co-defendants had encouraged and induced 87 individuals from Gujarat to unlawfully enter US on temporary H-2B visas, knowing that the Indian nationals did not intend to work for the company that was used to get visas for them.
The brothers also knew that the visa-seekers did not intend to return to India when their 10-month visas expired, a statement said.
Pena twins also travelled to India to assist the Indian nationals with the application process and visited and corresponded with the US Consulate in Mumbai.
Two other co-defendants -- Mack Patel of Ft Worth and Rakesh Patel, a Houston pharmacist -- pleaded guilty for recruiting Indian citizens who were willing to pay $20,000 to $60,000 in exchange for visas to enter the United States.
