FEDERAL prosecutors called three witnesses to testify in the jury trial of Halim Khan who is accused of involvement in a CW-1 visa scheme.
The jury trial started on Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garth Backe and Albert Flores conducted a direct examination of the witnesses: Frederic Jonas, Homeland Security Investigation special agent; Monica Verma, Immigration Services Officer III, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and co-defendant Faroque Hosen.
Khan was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The other co-conspirators — Servillana Soriano, Aminul Islam, and Faroque Hosen — were also charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
According to the second superseding indictment filed in 2020, Soriano with three others agreed to defraud the United States by deceitful and dishonest means, for the purpose of impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful government functions of a government agency, namely, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS, in the fair and objective evaluation of applications for CW-1 non-immigrant visas.
It was part of the conspiracy that RES International LLC would, in exchange for money, submit a petition for CW-1 classification that would falsely and fraudulently represent that an employer-employee relationship would exist between RES and the beneficiaries under the employment terms set forth in the petition, the indictment stated.
Islam and Hosen have both pled guilty to the charge.
Islam was sentenced by Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI on Feb 16, to serve one week of imprisonment, one year of supervised release, 25 hours of community service, and $100 assessment fee.
Hosen’s sentencing has been moved to April 4, 2022 at 1:30 p.m.
As for Servillana Soriano, a jury found her guilty last year, and her sentencing has been re-scheduled for May 3, 2022 at 9 a.m.
At his trial, Khan was represented by attorneys Bruce Berline and Joey San Nicolas while Rippon Ahmed served as the defendant’s interpreter.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI, who is presiding over the trial, ordered jurors not to discuss the case with anyone and to return to court for the jury trial on March 25, at 7:30 a.m.
