U.K. Salesman Pleads Guilty to Visa Fraud

Michael Leggett, a former double-glazing salesman from Norwich who has been living in Florida, is facing up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit visa fraud; admitting organizing a scam which promised U.S. visas to Britons hoping to move to Florida.^[1]

Leggett used forged signatures along with fake addresses and phone numbers to try to obtain visas for people who invested in his company Royal Development.^[2] However the U.S. Embassy in London grew suspicious at the number of visas granted to Florida and contacted the U.S. State Department, which began an inquiry in January last year.^[3]

Between December 2001 and November 2004, Leggett conspired to commit visa fraud when he attempted to obtain an L-1A visa for himself by using fraudulent documents.^[4] His scam then began around June 2003 when Leggett, with an unnamed third party, formed the Royal Development Company.^[5]

Leggett told investigators he came up with the idea of selling businesses to Britons which would enable them to get E-2 visas in January 2003.^[6] The plan involved selling them construction companies with which they could build houses as the licensed builder of Royal Development.^[7]

UK investors were told that buying a company would qualify the investor for an E-2 visa and that Royal Development would submit the visa paperwork on the investors’ behalf.^[8]

Between September 2003 and October 2004, at least 12 companies were sold to UK investors, named in the plea agreement as Christine Anderson, Ian Howcroft, Tracy Thorpe, David Laverick, Gary Weeks, John Sewell, Kevin Maxam, Nicola Jiggens, Eugene T Smith, Allison Smith, Jason Lewis and Andonio Toussaint.^[9]

“During the interview, Leggett admitted that most of the investors would not have gotten involved with Royal Development but for the possibility of a visa,” the federal criminal complaint said.^[10]

18 U.S.C. § 1546 covers fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents and it states, in part, that whoever knowingly forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit, border crossing card, alien registration receipt card, or other document prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States, or utters, uses, attempts to use, possesses, obtains, accepts, or receives any such visa, permit, border crossing card, alien registration receipt card, or other document prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States, knowing it to be forged, counterfeited, altered, or falsely made, or to have been procured by means of any false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise procured by fraud or unlawfully obtained.^[11]

Or whoever uses 1) an identification document, knowing (or having reason to know) that the document was not issued lawfully for the use of the possessor, 2) an identification document knowing (or having reason to know) that the document is false, or 3) a false attestation, for the purpose of satisfying a requirement of section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.^[12]

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^[1] Sun Staff, Conman admits US visa fraud, The Sun, August 28, 2007, available at http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007400093,00.html (last visited August 28, 2007).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.
^[10] Id.
^[11] 18 U.S.C. § 1546 (a)(2007).
^[12] Id., §1546(b)(1-3).