Three Accused In US Over Immigration Fraud Targeting Foreign Investors

Three individuals face federal charges in California for supposedly cheating international investors in a jobs program managed by U.S. immigration administrators, said by federal prosecutors on August 20, 2019.

Thomas Henderson, Kexing Hu, and Cooper Lee have been accused of wire fraud and collusion charges in the scam including the US EB-5 visa program, the US Attorney’s Office announced.

Story Behind the Immigration Scam

Henderson, 70, is the owner and founder of the San Francisco Regional Center. Investigators told that Henderson and his co-defendants over six years raised higher than $110 million from around 200 foreign investors who thought they were funding in EB-5-related companies sponsored by the regional center.

It wasn’t identified if they have lawyers. Henderson provided false documents and redirected funds for different projects, prosecutors told. The scheme jeopardized the production of higher than 2,000 jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area, as per the officials.

Besides acting a notable threat to the security of the nation and public safety, immigration benefit scam and related plans seriously cheat immigrants who are deserving of these advantages while discouraging investors who genuinely want to help them, told Tatum King, special assistant in charge of Homeland Security located in San Francisco.

EB-5 enables foreign citizens to receive green cards for US permanent residency by investing in eligible U.S. companies.

Henderson was arrested on 20 Aug in Oakland and made his first appearance in court. He is planned to return on 1 Oct for a status conference. Lee, 42, was arrested in Laguna Beach located in California. Hu continues at large, prosecutors told.

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