Man Charged in Sweeping Student Visa Fraud Case

L.A. Times ^ | March 8, 2010 | -- Anna Gorman in Los Angeles and My-Thuan Tran in Santa Ana

[Sefton]

Higgens was paid by dozens of foreign students -- mostly from the Middle East -- who were paying him to sit in class, take exams and write papers for them so their student visas would remain valid. Investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the demand was so great that he hired employees, including a blond woman who they believe posed as an Middle Eastern man to take a test. Agents are continuing to investigate the case and believe Higgins had several co-conspirators.

[Sefton]

The question is... where were the real students and what were they doing hear while others were sitting in for them taking classes? A late breaking KTLA News report said eleven have been arrested.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Test-taking for another student is an old scam. Don’t universities check IDs now?

[Sefton]

Video news story here- http://www.ktla.com/news/ look for video titled “KTLA Local Man Arrested in Massive...”

[HiTech RedNeck]

Were they even here at all, or maybe gallivanting around the world?

[Sefton]

The 10:00 PM News stated the Mastermind took classes at ten colleges over the past several years and hired others to do the same for the foreign visa students who weren’t really here to go to school.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Talking about the 9-11 mastermind? Or the mastermind of this particular scam?

[Mack Truck]

The only subject Middle Eastern students learned well in their native lands and U.S. madrassahs is 100 ways to hate and destroy infidels.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Didn’t Teddy Kennedy get kicked out of Harvard for this?

[Sefton]

Higgens is the alleged "mastermind" of this immigration fraud scheme. Here are some of his customers:

•Mohamed Khalfan Hazeem Taresh Almehairi of the United Arab Emirates

•Khalid Butti Khalifa Mohamed Almehairbi of the United Arab Emirates

•Ibrahim Salem Khalfan Almansoori, of the United Arab Emirates

•Abdullah Mohammed Alhogail of Saudi Arabia

•Mohammed Ali Alnuaim of Saudi Arabia

•Saeed Mohamed Hilal Zayed Alfalahi of the United Arab Emirates

[Sefton]

Interesting to compare the detail reported by the L.A. Times and the O.C. Register here: http://www.ocregister.com/news/higgins-238119-college-students.html

[thecodont]

Makes me wonder if BO had someone do something like this for him, when he was a student.

[tcrlaf]

“Don’t universities check IDs now?”

In a 400+ person class???

Hell, even the TA’s haven’t got a clue who’s sitting in those classes.

[Sefton]

From the Orange County Register: Higgins is suspected of providing services for at least 119 students – all from Middle Eastern countries.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Maybe like, take the whole darn class for him?

[Sefton]

No need to worry! “About half of the students are believed to have returned to their home countries.” immigration officials said.

[paudio]

The only subject Middle Eastern students learned well in their native lands and U.S. madrassahs is 100 ways to hate and destroy infidels.

Actually, they can do the same in any given university that offers classes in American Studies. Every single of them is either about how greedy Americans are or on history of American imperialism.

[meadsjn]

Looks like American students are still the best and brightest, ...

... and some of them know they will never be able to make an honest living in this corrupt communist society.

[familyop]

Orange County, of course. Heh. Another paragon of leadership.

[Cindy]

Thanks for the ping Yehuda.