US: 70-year-old Indian-origin man admits to multi-million dollar immigration fraud
A 70-year-old man of Indian-origin, Hardev Panesar, living in the US, has admitted to running a multi-million dollar immigration scam that is said to have duped over a 100 people. According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Panesar pled guilty to his crimes in the San Diego Federal Court on Thursday, and agreed to pay back $2.5mn to the victims. Here's more.
Panesar would charge exorbitant sums from his victims
Born in Kenya, and fluent in five languages, Panesar had, for years, pretended to be a US government official in a bid to trick immigrants. Over a five-year period, Panesar told dozens of immigrants that he was an official of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and promised to get their families legal immigration status in exchange for sums ranging between $20,000 and $40,000.
He had been arrested in June 2017
Yet, that's not all. Apart from his fraudulent activities, Panesar would often threaten clients with violence when they asked for their money back. In one case, he event threatened to behead someone. After a year-long investigation by the FBI, Panesar was arrested in June 2017, but was granted bail on a $100,000 bond. Then, things took a turn.
In June last year, Panesar had escaped to Mexico
In January last year, Panesar's attorney appealed that he be allowed to leave his home detention between 6am and 10pm. Owing to Panesar having performed well on his bail bond, the court granted him permission. Months later, in June 2018, Panesar tampered with his GPS anklet, and fled to Mexico, just before his trial was about to begin.
However, he was deported, and faces 20 years in prison
However, Panesar's escape was short-lived, and Mexican authorities caught him within a month and deported him back to the US in August. Out of options, Panesar has now cut short the trial process, and has pleaded guilty. While the court is slated to sentence him in May, one of his associates has been handed a nearly four-year prison term. Panesar faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.
