Authorities arrested the operators of four Los Angeles-area trade schools for allegedly running an elaborate “pay-to-stay” scam in which foreign nationals used student visas to stay in the United States without actually going to school.
lRelated Los Angeles-area officials plan crackdown on immigration scams
The schools appear to have tapped the booming Asian immigration population in Koreatown and the San Gabriel Valley. Authorities say the suspects took in $6 million a year in tuition payments.
Hee Sun Shim, 51, of Beverly Hills; Hyung Chan Moon, 39; and Eun Young Choi, 35, were named in a 21-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury Tuesday.
Authorities say Shim operated three schools in Koreatown and a fourth in Alhambra that enrolled hundreds of foreign nationals in their schools so they could remain in the country knowing the students had no plans of attending.
The schools identified by investigators were Prodee University/Neo-America Language School; Walter Jay M.D. Institute; an Educational Center and the American College of Forensic Studies and Likie Fashion and Technology College in Alhambra.
"Officials at several schools allegedly abused their responsibility to ensure that only legitimate foreign students were allowed to the stay in the country," said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura in a statement. "This type of fraud against the United States will be thoroughly examined to bring those responsible to justice and to protect the integrity of our immigration system.”
Feds allege major immigration fraud in L.A. trade schools - LA Times