A federal judge in Austin today sentenced a Cedar Park man to almost three and a half years in prison for spearheading a scheme in which his company fraudulently obtained work visas on behalf of several Austin companies and then sold some of the visas to hopeful immigrants in Mexico, according to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel also ordered Jose Ramiro Vicharelly, 55, and four previously convicted co-defendants to forfeit to the government about $312,000, five vehicles and to pay a $1 million judgment, according to a news release by federal prosecutors.
All of the defendants had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Vicharelly also pleaded to an additional count of conspiracy to encourage aliens to illegally enter and reside in the United States.
Vicharelly was president and executive director of International Staffing Solutions, Inc., which did business as Texas Staffing Resources.
The company’s fraudulent scheme was explained by prosecutors as follows:
The defendants approached several Austin businesses and offered to obtain H-2B visas for foreign workers as well as for undocumented aliens already working for their companies. The defendants then submitted fraudulent visa petitions requesting authorization for significantly more visas than requested by the companies. Vicharelly and his co-defendants then sold the excess visas for between $1,500 and $2,200 and traveled to Mexico to help immigrants submit the bogus visa forms and to prepare for consular interviews.
Also convicted were Vicharelly’s wife, Irma Lopez Vicharelly, 29, who was sentenced to two years probation; his daughter, Angela Paola Faulk, 32, who was sentenced to 17 months in prison; Faulk’s husband, Servando Gonzalez Jr., 25, who received two years probation; and former company account manager Pedro Saul Ocampo Munguia, who did not show up for sentencing and is considered a fugitive.
Vicharelly was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
