Andrew S. Boutros, Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois
Andrew S. Boutros, Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois
A Chicago resident has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for his role in an immigration fraud scheme involving false employment verifications for foreign nationals. Zhao Tai Cui, 60, admitted to charging F-1 visa holders a fee in exchange for falsely representing that they were employed by his company, allowing them to improperly extend their stay in the United States.
According to court documents, Cui advertised these fraudulent services on several websites and established a company in Illinois solely to serve as a sham employer. The scheme operated from 2013 through 2019, during which time Cui falsely claimed at least 250 F-1 visa holders worked for his business.
Earlier this year, Cui pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman handed down the two-year prison sentence and ordered Cui to pay a personal money judgment of $652,963.
The announcement was made by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.
“Cui’s scheme was expansive and involved multiple levels of deception,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth stated in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “This type of crime erodes the public’s faith in the immigration system.”
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