FRAUD SUMMARY JAN-MAR 2008 KINGSTON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000425 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR CA/FPP DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC JM SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY JAN-MAR 2008 KINGSTON REF: A) 08 KINGSTON 00091 B) 07 KINGSTON 01742 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. In the second quarter of FY 2008, the Fraud Prevention Unit focused on public outreach and interagency cooperation, particularly with our law enforcement colleagues. FPU organized an interagency roundtable, conducted three offsite field trips for officers, and gave presentations to airline representatives, immigration officers, and our friends at the British and Canadian High Commissions. Kingston's FPU received 233 Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) cases, 3 new Immigrant Visa (IV) cases, 9 American Citizen Services (ACS) cases, and 150 external requests (data checks from DHS, airlines, local immigration, etc.). FPU processed an additional 160 walk-in cases and entered 318 CLASS records based on I-275 turn around reports and other tip reports. Of all the NIV cases referred, 167 were closed, with 49 confirmed fraud (confirmed fraud rate: 29%). 7 IV cases were closed this quarter, with three confirmed fraud (confirmed fraud rate: 43%). END SUMMARY -------------- NONIMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD -------------- ¶2. (SBU) PERFORMERS: In January, FPU intercepted a group of sixteen performers who had close ties to the Caribbean Alliance Group, a petitioner known to FPU to have associations with drug trafficking. While this group of performers had applied under a new petition, many of the group had previously traveled for Caribbean Alliance Group and the bona fides of their previous travel could not be established. Most of the group could not give convincing answers about their upcoming tour, so the group was refused and their ties to the suspect petitioner were documented. ¶3. (U) J1 SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL PROGRAM: In February, our interviewers noticed a group of J1 summer work and travel students whose program dates ran from February to May 2008. FPU investigated the group and determined that none of the students met the qualifications for the summer work and travel program. Most were only part-time students and several claimed to attend the Computer Professionals Training Institute, a bogus educational entity. The group's travel agent, Annie Wilson, had organized their applications and claimed to represent the group on behalf of the Nu Krew Employment Agency. However, this was not the first time that Ms. 
Wilson had come to the attention of the Fraud Prevention Unit. She had previously attempted to obtain visa appointments through fraudulent means. Adhering to Kingston's new "zero-tolerance" policy for agents who abuse the expedited appointment process, FPU has barred Ms. Wilson and the Nu Krew Employment Agency from using the expedited system. FPU also reported the suspicious U.S. employment agency, Philadelphia International Institute, to the Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). ¶4. (U) PENN RELAYS: The Penn Relays track and field meet in April of each year is a major athletic event that is a significant cultural milestone for many young Jamaican athletes. Hundreds of high school and university students apply for visas each spring to attend the meet. However, many mala fide applicants apply for visas to attend the meet as well, disguising themselves as student athletes. In order to combat the high fraud associated with this event but still allow the bona fide student athletes to travel, FPU implemented a new system to prescreen all Penn Relays applicants. The FPM and FPU investigator delivered a presentation to over 100 principals and coaches of the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA),a local organization that coordinates all sports at the secondary school level. All schools submitted their students' applications and passports in advance of their visa interviews. After the cases were adjudicated, FPU verified the student enrollment of all 350 students over a three day period to ensure that each visa was issued to a bona fide student athlete. The new screening system was very successful and resulted in an improved relationship with ISSA and all the high schools involved in the process. -------------- IMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD -------------- ¶5. (U) In February 2008, the FPU staff conducted field investigations on outstanding immigrant visa cases over the course of three days. Two of the Unit's Fraud Investigators organized the trips and invited an entry-level officer (ELO) in the Consular Section to participate each day, in order to serve as a training opportunity and help orient the ELOs to the work involved in conducting a fraud investigation. The two-day field trip covered four parishes and resulted in the completion of four immigrant visa case investigations, of which two were determined to be fraudulent KINGSTON 00000425 002 OF 003 relationships. FPU plans to continue to organize these field trips bimonthly. -------------- DV FRAUD -------------- ¶6. (U) Kingston is not a DV post. -------------- AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES AND PASSPORT FRAUD -------------- ¶7. (U) FPU continues to investigate passport and CRBA applications for the ACS Unit by providing Lexis Nexis and other database searches on applications in order to assist the ACS officers in their adjudication process. Particularly in the rush of passport applications that has followed the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI),ACS has brought more cases to FPU's attention for verification of U.S. civil documents and Lexis searches to verify the passport applicants' claims to citizenship. -------------- ADOPTION FRAUD -------------- ¶8. (U) FPU regularly investigates adoption cases where the applicant's orphan status is uncertain. Jamaica has a tradition of informal adoption without documentation, which makes it difficult for Jamaican applicants to establish their eligibility. Often, an applicant's relatives in the United States will adopt the applicant despite the fact that the applicant does not qualify as an orphan. FPU conducts regular field investigations to the applicants' homes in order to determine who is caring for the applicant and whether the family meets the poverty definitions of the INA. -------------- ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFITS FRAUD -------------- ¶9. (U) Post's DHS/USCIS Officer-in-Charge reports no asylum cases for the second quarter of 2008. -------------- COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES -------------- ¶10. (U) FPU continued our public outreach efforts with airline and immigration officer trainings in January and February. FPU trained 60 new airline representatives and 20 immigration officers on fraudulent document detection, facial recognition and U.S. travel document requirements. -------------- COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In February, FPU sponsored a roundtable meeting with all U.S. law enforcement agencies at Post: the U.S. Marshals, the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS),the Regional Security Office, and the Consular Section. It was the first gathering of these agencies in recent memory to discuss fraud issues and was a highly successful meeting. The group agreed to implement better information-sharing practices and to meet more regularly to discuss fraud trends and other cross-cutting issues. ¶12. (SBU) As a result of the law enforcement roundtable meeting, our DHS colleagues have begun to regularly share lists of Jamaican deportees that have arrived on the monthly Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) flights from the U.S. FPU has used this information to ensure that all deportees have been entered into the CLASS database. FPU has also received invaluable drug interdiction intelligence from DEA and NAS, as well as developed a closer relationship with the U.S. Marshals office to detect wanted fugitives who apply for visas. -------------- COOPERATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT -------------- ¶13. (U) FPU hosted a three-day visit by the Department's Fraud Prevention Programs (CA/FPP) liaison for the Caribbean in February and shared our best practices, as well as the challenges we face in KINGSTON 00000425 003 OF 003 detecting and preventing fraud in Kingston. The visit produced valuable results and strengthened our working relationship with the Department and our regional colleagues. -------------- AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN -------------- ¶14. (SBU) FRAUDULENT ENTRY TO CONSULAR SECTION: In March, FPU received information from the Consular Process Facilitator that applicants appeared to be entering the compound without valid appointment letters. After our staff identified several applicants who had entered improperly, FPU investigated and discovered that these applicants were arriving at the entrance and asking for admission to the American Citizen Services Unit. Upon further investigation, the applicants admitted that they had paid a vendor outside on the sidewalk approximately US $100 each for information on how to access the Consular Section. The A/RSO-I interrogated the vendor and turned her over to the Jamaican Fraud Squad for criminal investigation. -------------- STAFFING AND TRAINING -------------- ¶15. (U) OFFICER TRAINING: In February, FPU coordinated and hosted an intensive, three hour training session for visa officers to review visa security features, exemplars of backdated immigration stamps, common fraudulent groups and trends, and investigative interviewing skills. The presentation was the inaugural session in what is planned to be monthly officer training sessions to cover a range of fraud prevention issues as they arise. ¶16. (U) OFFICER FIELD TRIPS: In March, FPU coordinated an off-site field trip to the Registrar General's Department (RGD) to learn about the process to obtain local birth and marriage certificates. The RGD provided an insightful presentation and tour of its facilities. FPU learned that the RGD has many security measures in place and treats its security paper much like visa foils in terms of access and accountability. Officers were able to ask questions about the most common fraud trends that arise in visa interviews with regards to local birth and marriage records. The director of the RGD, Dr. Patricia Holness, personally gave the presentation and guided us on the tour. The field trip provided officers and staff with a better understanding of the RGD and built confidence in the RGD's ability to prevent fraud. ¶17. (U) LES TRAINING: Fraud Investigator Erica Beresford attended PC-542 Fraud Prevention Workshop at FSI on March 10-14, 2008. Ms. Beresford learned critical new investigative skills and how to apply the latest CA/FPP tools. She also benefited from interacting with her colleagues from around the world. Upon Ms. Beresford's return to Post, she shared her experiences in a roundtable discussion with the rest of the Fraud Prevention Unit. The training was immensely valuable and Post plans to nominate another LES staff member for the next available training course. ¶18. (U) The Fraud Prevention Manager (FPM) position is vacant. The current FPM is Jennifer L. Williams, an ELO in a six month rotation. JOHNSON