13 Mar 2015
Arrests made in 'pay to stay' immigration scheme at L.A. area schools
"Three nights a week, the instructor dutifully showed up to teach at two Koreatown-area campuses that together boasted more than 900 students. For Business Law II and U.S. Government at American College of Forensic Studies on Mondays and Thursdays, three students typically turned up. For Introduction to Politics at Prodee University on Wednesdays, attendance was often zero. To investigators, something was clearly amiss. The colleges, federal authorities alleged Wednesday, were part of a network of four schools that allowed hundreds of foreign nationals to illegally remain in the U.S. on fraudulent student visas in what investigators called a "pay to stay" scheme. For payments up to $1,800 every six months, the schools provided paperwork for student visas for enrollees, many of whom never set foot on campus and lived in places as far-flung as Hawaii and Texas, authorities allege." - Victoria Kim, L.A. Times, Mar. 11, 2015.