Raina Massey, an Elmont, New York, woman was last week arrested and charged for allegedly orchestrating a multi-pronged H-1B visa fraud scheme through her shell Newark-based company, Care Worldwide, according to New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Massey, 51, was charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of visa fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. She was scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court March 11.
According to the complaint, from February 2012 through March 2015, Massey and others executed the fraud scheme through her company, CWW, which purported to be a clinical research company, but was actually a shell company that did little to no legitimate work of any kind. Massey and others sought out and advertised for qualified foreign professionals, purportedly to work for CWW in clinical research positions as beneficiaries of H-1B visas. These beneficiaries became victims of the scheme because the advertised positions did not actually exist.
For some victims, Massey engaged in “benching,” a form of fraud in which Massey and others falsely represented that the beneficiaries would have specialty technical jobs waiting for them upon their arrival at CWW. After taking illegal payments from these beneficiaries, Massey and others then completed applications for H-1B visas for these beneficiaries.
However, when the beneficiaries arrived in the United States, Massey and others employed them in menial tasks, such as handing out flyers on street corners,” the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
For some other victims, Massey and others, after illegally taking payments from the victims, never actually applied for H-1B visas. Massey and others provided these victims with false and fraudulent Form I-797Cs, which contained receipt numbers from other, previously filed, H-1B visa applications.
“When the H-1B beneficiaries demanded to start their H-1B employment, defendants would initially advise them that there was no work available yet,” according to court documents. “But when pressed later on as to the actual start date of employment, defendant Massey would shout at the H-1B beneficiaries, and would even threaten them that she could withdraw or cancel the H-1B petition, and that the H-1B beneficiaries could be deported,’ the complaint said.
For a third set of victims, Massey and others, after illegally taking payments from the victims based on fraudulent representations regarding H-1B visas, never provided any documentation whatsoever to the victims.
In all cases, Massey and others demanded and took illegal payments from victims in exchange for purportedly filing H-1B visa applications on behalf of the victims.
Each wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; the visa fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and the aggravated identity theft count carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, to run consecutive to any sentence imposed on any other count. Each count carries a potential fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
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