Two So. Bay Men, One Texan Indicted On Fraud, Conspiracy Charges

SANTA CLARA, CA -- A federal grand jury indicted two South Bay residents and one Texan, charging the defendants in a visa fraud scheme, the U.S Department of Justice reported.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, working alongside Homeland Security, secured the indictment of Kishore Dattapuram, 49, of Santa Clara, Santosh Giri, 42, of San Jose, and Kumar Aswapathi, 49, of Austin, Texas operated Nanosemantics, Inc., a Santa Clara-based consulting firm whose services included placing skilled foreign workers at software and technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

According to the indictment, the defendants worked together to submit fraudulent H-1B visa applications on behalf of foreign workers in order to gain a competitive advantage over competing firms.

The H-1B visa program allows foreign workers to obtain temporary authorization to live and work for employers in the United States. In order to secure an H-1B visa, an employer or other sponsor must submit an “I-129” petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A petition and associated documentation must confirm the existence and duration of the job waiting for the worker, and describe key details including the wages associated with the position.

In this case, the defendants allegedly used Nanosemantics to submit fraudulent I-129 petitions and obtain H-1B visas for workers that the defendants could later place at local companies to gain a competitive advantage over consultants working under the rule of law.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and substantive visa fraud.

They were arrested Wednesday. Dattapuram and Aswapathi made their initial appearances in federal court in San Jose and Austin, respectively. Giri made his initial appearance Thursday, also in San Jose. All defendants entered pleas of not guilty and were released on bonds. They're scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. on May 13.