This settlement showcases the value of the False Claims Act (FCA) in the area of immigration fraud.
In this case, the defendant was alleged to make false statements to the government to bring workers to the US on an inexpensive B-1 visa when the proper procedure would have been the more expensive H-1B, cheating the government out of fees. The defendant settled for about $9.9 million. The case was initiated by a whistleblower.
By my estimate, the whistleblower in this case should be entitled to receive a bounty of between about $1.5 to $2.5 million for their efforts.
If you have evidence that similar frauds are going on, it’s worth it to discuss the situation with an attorney experienced in bringing these types of cases. My firm has handled a number of these.
