H-1B Visa Fraud Makes for a Different Type of Cemetery Plot

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009 3:02 AM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 2072 -- 10/31/2009 >>>>>

An immigration attorney named Kelly Einstein Darwin Giles and two others were
arrested on suspicion of selling dozens of fake H-1B visas for $6,000 to
$50,000. According to the LA Times and Law.com they laundered the profits by
buying vacant burial plots. The two co-conspirators are Joseph Wai-man Wu and
his wife May Yin-man Wu.

Surprisingly the website for the Law Offices of Kelly Giles hasn't died yet.
Besides fraud, they specialize in immigration to the U.S. and Canada.

Website: http://kgimmigration.com/index.html
email: info@kgimmigration.com

Other LINKS:

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202434754287&Lawyers_Alleged_Visa_Fraud_Makes_for_a_Different_Type_of_Cemetery_Plot
Amanda Bronstad: Lawyer's Alleged Visa Fraud Makes for a Different Type of
Cemetery Plot

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-visa-fraud19-2009oct19,0,158696.story
Lawyer is accused of selling fake work visas

http://cbs2.com/local/immigration.lawywer.burial.2.1253060.html
Picture of cemetary

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202434754287&Lawyers_Alleged_Visa_Fraud_Makes_for_a_Different_Type_of_Cemetery_Plot

Lawyer's Alleged Visa Fraud Makes for a Different Type of Cemetery Plot Amanda
Bronstad

10-20-2009

A Los Angeles attorney and two of his business associates have been arrested
on charges of masterminding a visa fraud scheme that enabled them to purchase
vacant cemetery plots worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Kelly Einstein Darwin Giles, a solo practitioner who previously worked for the
East West Law Group in West Covina, Calif., was taken into custody by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Los Angeles International
Airport. ICE agents also served notice on a local mortuary to seize 30 vacant
burial plots and 20 blank grave plaques. The case was the first of its kind in
the Central District of California to involve the seizure of grave sites.

Also arrested were two of Giles' business associates: Joseph Wai-man Wu, who
was president of the East West Law Group and who works for Giles, and Wu's
wife, May Yin-man Wu.

All three were charged with visa fraud. A magistrate judge set bond at
$250,000 for each of defendant.

"Attorneys are sworn to uphold the law, and those who instead manipulate the
system through fraud deserve criminal prosecution," said Acting U.S.
Attorney George S. Cardona, in a prepared statement. "United States
immigration laws are intended to provide benefits to individuals who meet
specified criteria -- not immigration attorneys and opportunists who
manipulate the system for personal financial gain."

According to law enforcement authorities, the accused set up about a dozen
shell companies and filed nearly 140 fraudulent visa petitions. Many were for
H-1B visas, which allow overseas professional workers such as accountants or
information technology specialists to work in the United States. Neither the
companies nor the jobs existed, according to law enforcement authorities.

The decade-long scheme netted at least $830,000 in proceeds, the government
said.

Agents seized immigration applications, financial records and computer
equipment from Giles's law offices.

The defendants charged as much as $50,000 to file the petitions. According to
an affidavit, the defendants told their clients, the foreigners named in the
applications, to lie if questioned by authorities about the visa scheme. One
client secretly recorded two meetings with Giles and Joseph Wu.

The defendants bought grave sites at Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary in
Whittier, Calif., as part of the scheme. According to law enforcement
authorities, the value of cemetery plots has been appreciating at a rate of 10
percent each year.

The two-year investigation involved ICE, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office
of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services'
Fraud Detection and National Security Unit.

Giles, who was admitted to practice in California in 1989, has no prior record
of discipline. His attorney, Michael Artan, a solo practitioner in Los
Angeles, did not return a call for comment; neither did attorneys for the Wu
defendants.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-visa-fraud19-2009oct19,0,158696.story

Lawyer is accused of selling fake work visas The West Covina attorney and two
business associates allegedly laundered the profits by buying vacant burial
plots, authorities say.

By Raja Abdulrahim

October 19, 2009

An attorney and two business associates have been arrested on suspicion of
selling dozens of fake employment visas and then laundering the profits by
buying vacant burial plots, authorities said.

Kelly Einstein Darwin Giles, 46, owner of a West Covina law practice, was
taken into custody Thursday by customs agents at Los Angeles International
Airport as he returned from a trip, authorities said.

His two business associates, Joseph Wai-man Wu, 50, and his wife, May Yin-man
Wu, 43, were arrested earlier in the day.

All three were charged with visa fraud. Their arrests culminated a 2 1/2 -year
investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The trio are accused of setting up nearly a dozen fake companies to file
fraudulent employment visa applications, many of them for H-1B visas, which
are reserved for foreign workers with specialized skills, authorities said.

The immigrants named in the applications never worked for the defendants or
the fictitious companies.

The defendants allegedly charged $6,000 to $50,000 to file fraudulent visa
petitions on behalf of applicants, authorities said. Investigators have
identified about 100 foreign nationals who had visa petitions filed on their
behalf.

Working with authorities, one of the applicants recorded conversations with
Giles and Joseph Wu, officials said. In one conversation, Giles encourages the
cooperating witness to lie to investigators, according to an affidavit in the
case.

Customs agents searched Giles' law office and seized immigration applications
and documents, financial records and computer equipment, authorities said.

They also seized 30 vacant burial plots and 20 blank grave monuments at Rose
Hills Memorial Park in Whittier that allegedly were purchased with proceeds
from the visa scheme.

Cemetery plots are a novel investment because they appreciate at a rate of up
to 10% a year and are less susceptible to economic downturns, authorities
said.

"It's unique in the sense that we haven't run into this before that an
individual seeking to hide proceeds goes out and purchases cemetery plots,"
said Jorge Guzman, Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant special agent
in charge. "There are always new ways in which criminals will try and hide
money, but this is by far one of the most unique."

If the burial plots are forfeited to the government, they will be sold at
auction, authorities said.

raja.abdulrahim @latimes.com

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