2 Somerset County Lawyers Indicted On Visa Fraud Charges: Feds

MONTGOMERY, NJ - Two Somerset County lawyers were indicted Friday in connection with falsifying visa applications, federal officials said.

Steven G. Thomas, 52, and Maria Thomas, 81, both of Montgomery Township, were indicted for conspiring to prepare and file false visa applications on behalf of clients, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Steven Thomas was also charged with one count of filing a false visa application.

It was not immediately clear if, or how, the two Thomases are related.

From 2015 to 2021, the pair reportedly encouraged clients to apply for asylum under false pretenses by advising them on the best ways to obtain asylum, knowing that these clients did not legitimately qualify for asylum, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

The duo then prepared or ordered the preparation of fraudulent applications and affidavits on behalf of those clients, which were submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Sellinger said.

In January 2020, a confidential informant working for law enforcement met with Thomas, who filed on that person’s behalf a visa application containing numerous false statements in April 2020, Sellinger said.

Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel in Newark, with the investigation leading to the indictment.