Fake Armed Robberies, Real Charges: The U‑Visa Fraud Scheme
Key takeaways
- Personal Finance Fake Armed Robberies, Real Charges: The U‑Visa Fraud Scheme By Steve Weisman,
- Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
- The U non-immigrant visa program (U-visa) is a program created by Congress in 2000 through the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act to protect non-citizen victims of serious crimes.
Personal Finance Fake Armed Robberies, Real Charges: The U‑Visa Fraud Scheme By Steve Weisman,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Steve Weisman writes about white-collar crime.Follow Author May 07, 2026, 03:08pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.American Visagetty Ten Indian nationals were indicted recently by a federal grand jury in Botson on charges related to conspiring to stage phony armed robberies of convenience stores for the sole purpose of allowing store clerks to falsely claim on immigration applications that they were victims of an armed robbery.
The U non-immigrant visa program (U-visa) is a program created by Congress in 2000 through the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act to protect non-citizen victims of serious crimes. A visa granted under this program allows the victim to remain legally in the United States. To qualify for the program, an applicant must have been a victim of a serious crime while in the United States and must have suffered some actual harm which can be either physical or psychological.