SERVILLANA Soriano will serve one month in prison for one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States government.
At the sentencing hearing on Friday, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI said Soriano will also be placed on seven months’ home detention as part of her probation, and three years of supervised release.
In addition, the defendant will perform 50 hours of community service at the direction of the U.S. Probation Office, but this will be suspended if she is gainfully employed, the judge said.
Soriano was likewise ordered to pay a special assessment fee of $100 immediately after the sentencing hearing.
She will self-surrender to the U.S. Marshals at the Department of Corrections on Oct. 14, 2022 at 8 a.m.
At the hearing, Soriano appeared out of custody and was represented by attorney Mark Hanson with Marilou Babauta serving as her interpreter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe appeared for the federal government.
Last year, a jury found Soriano guilty for her involvement in a CW-1 visa scheme.
According to the prosecution, Soriano with three others agreed to defraud the U.S. 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 CW-1 non-immigrant visa applications.
The prosecution said this was part of a conspiracy in which 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 other co-conspirators — Aminul Islam, Halim Khan and Faroque Hosen — were also charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
Islam and Hosen have both pled guilty to the charge.
On Feb. 16, 2021, Judge Manglona sentenced Islam to one week of imprisonment, one year of supervised release and 25 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay a $100 assessment fee.
On April 12, 2022, Hosen was sentenced to two years’ probation, and was ordered to perform 25 hours of community service.
As for Halim Khan, a jury found him guilty on March 28, 2022. His sentencing that was previously scheduled for Aug. 5, 2022 has been rescheduled for Oct. 28, 2022 at 1:30 p.m.
