NO MORE GOOD VIBRATIONS EMBASSY ZAGREB AFU

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000105

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP J. JONES AND J. CARSON
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS KFRD HR
SUBJECT: NO MORE GOOD VIBRATIONS EMBASSY ZAGREB AFU
UNCOVERS VIBROFLOORS L-VISA FRAUD RING


1. SUMMARY. American Embassy Zagreb's consular Anti-Fraud
Unit has discovered that a U.S. company, Vibrofloors World
Group LLC of Fayetteville, GA, has facilitated fraudulent
L-1 and B-1 visa issuances for a large number of tile
layers and floor installers from Croatia and a smaller
number from Poland. The alleged sister company in Croatia,
Vibrofloors Croatia, exists of little more than a doorbell
in a south Zagreb apartment building. Once in the United
States, workers are paid cash for physical labor, laying
floors in and around Atlanta, GA. The company's president,
,
a Croatian national, has been found ineligible for visa
issuance as an alien smuggler. END SUMMARY.


2. A U.S. company, Vibrofloors World Group LLC, from 2000
to 2005 recruited approximately 37 individuals from Croatia
and Poland to enter the United States on L-1 and B-1 visas
to install floors and floor tiling in and around Atlanta,
GA. The company's president, Mario Cvitkovic, established
a shell company, Vibrofloors Croatia, and coached workers
to claim they were traveling to train U.S. workers on a
laser-guided floor installation procedure to facilitate L-1
and B-1 visa issuance. Numerous current and former
employees have told post's consular Anti-Fraud Unit that
they worked exclusively in the United States and that they
performed only physical labor floor tile installation.


3. The fraud ring began in the mid-1990s with an
apparently legitimate Germany company, ACSS Vibrofloors
GmbH, which patented a procedure for installing floor
surfaces that would withstand heavy vibrations common in
industrial processes. A German national, Markus
Steinbrecher (02-DEC-1967 GER),and a Croatian national,
Mario Cvitkovic (26-MAR-1960 HRV),established a U.S.-based
derivative, Vibrofloors World Group LLC, in 2000.
Cvitkovic took out a Croatian newspaper ad in 2000 seeking
Croatian men interested in work in the United States.
Between 2000 and 2005, he brought approximately 37 workers
and their families to the United States on L-1 and B-1
visas. A former employee describes Cvitkovic as a "good
guy who helps Croatians work in the United States."


4. Four egregiously unqualified beneficiaries associated
with Vibrofloors World Group LLC applied for L-1 visas in
Zagreb in January 2006. Each admitted that he had
previously entered the U.S. on a B-1 visa to accept
employment from Cvitkovic as a floor installer. Each
admitted he was only a physical laborer. Three spoke no
English and two acknowledged they had never worked for
Vibrofloors World Group outside of the United States. Post
opened a fraud investigation on Vibrofloors' activities in
Croatia.


5. Vibrofloors Croatia does not provide goods or services
or engage in commerce of any kind. No current or former
employee could name a project or contract on which
Vibrofloors Croatia had worked. Most employees admitted in
interviews that Vibrofloors does not operate in Croatia but
only in the United States. According to commercial court
records, Vibrofloors Croatia was set up in 2000; however,
when post's Anti-Fraud Uunit visited Vibrofloors Croatia's
headquarters, it found only a private apartment in south
Zagreb.


6. Current and former employees of Vibrofloors World Group
paint a clear picture of the company's activities in the
United States. Approximately 20-25 current workers are
divided into installation teams of 5-7 workers who install
floors and floor tiles in Georgia, mostly for car
manufactures including BMW and Lexis. Most have no
specialized training and have no knowledge of the company's
organization. Cvitkovic personally pays workers between
$3,000 and $5,000 a month in cash, though several employees
have told us Cvitkovic stopped paying salaries in mid-2005.
Workers are lodged in various hotels, frequently moving
among Super 8 and Red Roof Inn motels. No employee could
correctly state his U.S. address. Company documents list
two addresses: 135 Walter Way; Fayetteville, GA 30214 and
1415 Highway 85 North; Fayetteville, GA 30214.


7. Post found Mario Cvitkovic (AKA Zeljko Cvitkovic, 26-
MAR-1960 HRV/ASTL) ineligible for L-1 visa issuance under
212(a)6(E) for offering aliens employment where they would
not enter the United States legally to accept the
employment,. Four pending L-1 applications have been
forwarded to DHS with recommendations for petition
revocation. Post's Anti-Fraud Unit is reviewing all cases
of applicants previously issued L or B visas and believed
to be already in the United States and will cable
recommendations for visa revocation septel.