Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KINGSTON253
2009-04-02 11:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

FRAUD SUMMARY - KINGSTON (OCT 08-MAR 09)

Tags:  KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC JM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0017
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKG #0253/01 0921132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021132Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7464
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH
UNCLAS KINGSTON 000253 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR CA/FPP
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC
DEPT PASS TO WHA BUREAU COLLECTIVE
PASS TO KCC WILLIAMSBURG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC JM
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - KINGSTON (OCT 08-MAR 09)

REF: A) 08 KINGSTON 000425 B) 08 KINGSTON 00091

UNCLAS KINGSTON 000253

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR CA/FPP
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC
DEPT PASS TO WHA BUREAU COLLECTIVE
PASS TO KCC WILLIAMSBURG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC JM
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - KINGSTON (OCT 08-MAR 09)

REF: A) 08 KINGSTON 000425 B) 08 KINGSTON 00091


1. (U) SUMMARY. In the first half of FY 2009, Kingston's Fraud
Prevention Unit (FPU) focused on IV relationship fraud and enhancing
cooperation with our partners at the British and Canadian High
Commissions and the law enforcement community within the Embassy.
During the past two quarters, FPU attended a half-day joint
conference for the fraud units of the U.S., British, and Canadian
Missions; trained 69 airline representatives on fraudulent document
detection; and implemented additional processes to prevent criminals
from obtaining visas. FPU received 219 Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV)
cases, 28 new Immigrant Visa (IV) cases, six ACS cases, and 280
external requests (database checks from DHS, airlines, local
immigration, etc.). FPU processed an additional 313 walk-in cases
and entered 1,016 CLASS records based on I-275 turn around reports,
information from other agencies and other tips. Of all the NIV
cases referred, 33% of IV cases were confirmed fraud and 9.6% of the
NIV cases were confirmed fraud. END SUMMARY

--------------
COUNTRY CONDITIONS
--------------


2. (SBU) Jamaica, located 550 miles south of Florida, has a
population estimated to be 2.8 million and a 2008 GDP of USD 13
billion. A high-level government official has told us that the
government has no confidence in population estimates because there
is nothing comparable to a social security number or national
identification number. The government suspects that the population
may be significantly higher. Independent since 1962, Jamaica is a
member of the British Commonwealth with a constitutional
parliamentary democracy with relatively high literacy rates, an
outspoken and vibrant press, and an open market economy. Two
parties, both originating from labor movements, dominate the
political scene: the Jamaica Labor Party, elected in 2007 and led by
Prime Minister Bruce Golding, and the Peoples National Party.


3. (SBU) Jamaica is a major producer of marijuana ("ganja") for the
U.S. market. Jamaica is also routinely exploited as a narcotics
transshipment hub with an estimated 20-25% of the cocaine that

reaches the United States transiting the country or its territorial
waters. Jamaica is also a significant transit hub for other
contraband, particularly weapons smuggling in the form of a robust
guns for drugs trade with Haiti. The Department rates the crime
threat as critical. Depressed economic conditions and the presence
of the drug trade contribute to civil unrest and criminal activity,
including significant visa and citizenship fraud. Illegal
migration, transnational crime, economic inertia, and a formidable
HIV/AIDS presence adversely affect U.S. national security, economic,
democracy, and other strategic interests.


4. (U) Jamaica's proximity to the U.S. mainland and well-developed
sea lanes and air links facilitate the movements of over two million
travelers, including well over one million American tourists
annually between the United States and Jamaica. An estimated 24,100
U.S. citizens reside in Embassy Kingston's consular district, which
includes the Cayman Islands. Kingston's Consular Section supports
consular agents in Montego Bay and the Cayman Islands.


5. (SBU) The incidence of suspected fraud in many government
agencies is high. Visa applicants often submit forged or altered
birth, marriage, and police certificates. Transparency
International's annual index of corruption, announced 25 September
2008, showed Jamaica falling 12 places (from 84 to 96) during 2008
on the list of 180 countries surveyed.

--------------
NONIMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD
--------------


6. (SBU) H-2B PETITION FRAUD: Post has seen a number of incidences
of suspicious H2B petitions with Victor Krus listed as the agent.
Victor Krus and Dzmitry Krasautsau are the subjects of a criminal
investigation for smuggling unauthorized aliens and visa fraud.
Many of the unauthorized aliens were from Jamaica, Brazil and
various Eastern European countries.


7. (U) NIV DUAL IDENTITY CASE: A female imposter was recognized
during pre-screening for her NIV interview as having had another
identity other than that on her visa application. Shawna Ann
Williams returned to the embassy under the name Francine Natasha
Minto after a visa refusal. The pre-screener remembered Ms.
Williams from her prior NIV interview.


8. (U) J-1 SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL PROGRAM: We continue to subject
applicants for this program to pre-interview checks to verify
post-secondary school enrollment. Summer work and travel validation
studies and outreach are a priority for post. We plan to complete a
validation study of this group in the next quarter. In March, the
FP Operations Officer attended a conference on the summer work and
travel program in Washington, D.C. to collaborate with our
counterparts world-wide on fraud trends and best practices.


9. (SBU) H-1B PETITION REVOCATIONS: In the second quarter of 2009,
Kingston sent two H-1B petitions to USCIS for revocation. An
additional H-1B applicant withdrew her application after learning
that her immigration consultant was connected with fraudulent H-1B
employment in the U.S.


10. (SBU) In the first case, the applicant presented falsified
documents during her 2005 H-1B visa interview and was issued the
visa. The applicant admitted to the FPM during her renewal visa
interview in April 2008 that her supposed employer, Eden House
Foundation of Atlanta, did not exist. She further admitted that she
had been working illegally as a practical nurse in New York for the
past three years. She also admitted that Ms. Sharon Lee of
U.S.-based immigration consultant Taylor Lee & Associates in Miami,
Florida had provided her with a cover story and had prepared her for
her initial interview in exchange for a significant fee. This case
was investigated for ties to a larger fraud ring and the petition
revocation was submitted this quarter.


11. (SBU) In the second case, the applicant grossly exaggerated her
experience as Managing Director of a wholesale operation in order to
supplement three years of university education. In actuality, the
applicant worked at her mother's grocery store and was related to
most of the employees. The applicant's job letter asserted a list
of duties that she performed, but the applicant was unable to
explain how she carried out her duties. In some cases, the
applicant directly contradicted her job letter. For example,
according to her job letter, the applicant researched and
coordinated on all local insurance policies and liability matters.
When asked about this process, the applicant answered that she calls
her stepfather and asks him to call insurance companies.


12. (SBU) L-1A PETITION REVOCATION: In the second quarter of 2009,
Kingston sent one L-1A petition to USCIS for revocation. The
applicant tied to the L-1A revocation had never made a payment on
the lease submitted to USCIS six months earlier. Additionally, FPU
could not find contact information for the owner listed on the lease
agreement. As a result, post believes that the lease was fraudulent
and that the applicant had not established sufficient physical
premises to house the new office.


--------------
IMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD
--------------


13. (U) FPU staff conducted six field investigations on seventeen
immigrant visa cases between November 2008 and February 2009. Two
of the Unit's LES Fraud Investigators and an entry level officer
participated in these trips. The field trips covered six of
Jamaica's parishes [local administrative unit equivalent to a U.S.
county] and resulted in the completion of eleven immigrant visa case
investigations, of which five were determined to be based on a
fraudulent relationship. FPU plans to continue to organize these
field trips bimonthly.


14. (U) Kingston has encouraged (but not required) many applicants
in romantic relationship cases (IR1, CR1, K1, K3) who do not
immediately convince the adjudicating officer of the bona fides of
their relationships to bring petitioners to their follow-up
interviews. The higher percentage of petitioners present at
follow-up interviews has improved the officers' ability to detect
relationship fraud. Also, FPU's LES investigators have conducted
more "split" interviews of the petitioner and applicant in recent
months, applying their wealth of local knowledge and years of
experience to garner more confessions of relationship fraud and
saving adjudicating officers interview time. These successful
"split" interviews also save FPU time and resources by reducing the
number of local field investigations required to complete fraud
reviews of questionable immigrant visa cases.

--------------
DV FRAUD
--------------


15. (U) Jamaicans are not eligible to participate in the DV
program. Kingston processes only a minuscule number of cases for
applicants from other countries.
--------------
AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES AND PASSPORT FRAUD
--------------


16. (U) U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD: In January 2009, Jamaican immigration
officials notified ARSO-I of an individual believed to be carrying a
photo-subbed U.S. passport in an attempt to board a flight from
Montego Bay to the United States. The subject was interviewed after
immigration officials noticed fraudulent indicators on the passport,
during which he claimed he was born in Florida and possessed a
genuine U.S. passport. After verifying the passport information in
the CCD, ARSO/I discovered the passport was issued to a person of a
different name and date of birth. The individual was arrested and
charged with presenting false documents.

--------------
ADOPTION FRAUD
--------------


17. (U) FPU regularly investigates adoption cases where the
applicant's orphan status is uncertain. There has been an increase
in cases referred to FPU, with most applicants adopted close to
their sixteenth birthday. Nine cases were referred to FPU between
October 2008 and February 2009, with one case including two children
adopted by the same petitioner. This case is currently being
investigated. Jamaica has a tradition of "informal" adoptions, which
makes it difficult for Jamaican applicants to establish their
eligibility as orphans under U.S. law. 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.

--------------
USE OF DNA TESTING
--------------


18. (U) Kingston processes a high volume of cases where DNA testing
is recommended. It is common in Jamaica for fathers not to be
listed on their children's birth certificate, or for the father or
child's name to be added later, with little or no supporting
documentation provided proving the relationship at the time the name
is added. As a result, the biological relationship of IV and ACS
applicants is often questionable. Approximately 20% of all cases
where DNA is done resulted in no biological relationship.

--------------
ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFITS FRAUD
--------------


19. (U) Post's DHS/USCIS Officer-in-Charge reported no asylum cases
for the period of September 2008 - March 2009.

--------------
ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING,
--------------
--------------
ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORIST TRAVEL
--------------

20. (U) FPU and ARSO-I work closely with law enforcement
counterparts within the embassy and maintain a monthly collaboration
meeting to foster greater information sharing. The Department of
Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the primary
agency at post that handles alien smuggling and trafficking cases.
Organized crime and terrorist travel are addressed in conjunction
with several law enforcement agencies at post and include FPU and
ARSO-I on issues as they arise.

--------------
DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS
--------------

21. (U) THREE NIV APPLICANTS ARRESTED: Three NIV applicants were
arrested outside the U.S. Embassy after LES process facilitators
witnessed the applicants collecting fraudulent documents from well
known document vendors. Coordination with the Consular Section's
process facilitators, FPU, ARSO-I and the Jamaican Constabulary
Force led to the arrests. All three subjects were fingerprinted,
interviewed and arrested after admitting to the ARSO-I that they had
purchased fraudulent employment letters, bank statements and
mortgage letters prior to the NIV interviews.


--------------
HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS,
--------------
--------------
AND CIVIL REGISTRY
--------------


22. (U) Document forgers, corrupt government officials and poor law
enforcement assist alien smuggling rings operating in the country.
The incidence of suspected fraud in many government agencies is
high. The Jamaican government (GOJ) has issued a secure passport,
but issuance procedures are poor and a new identity complete with a
GOJ issued passport continues to be easy to attain.

--------------
COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES
--------------


23. (U) FPU continues to have an outstanding working relationship
with the Jamaican Registrar General's Department (RGD) verifying
civil documents. All cases involving altered RGD documents continue
to be referred to the RGD's fraud department, regardless of whether
the fraud would result in potential visa ineligibilities. This new
system allows the RGD to attempt to pinpoint the sources of these
fraudulent documents, thereby resulting in the arrests of all
responsible individuals.


24. (U) FPU continued our public outreach efforts with airline and
immigration officer training in November. FPU trained approximately
69 new airline representatives on the detection of fraudulent
documents, facial recognition and U.S. travel document requirements.


--------------
COOPERATION WITH OTHER MISSIONS
--------------


25. (SBU) Cooperation with our colleagues at the British and
Canadian High Commissions is one of FPU's highest priorities. All
three Missions face common fraud threats, so it is clear that we can
each target fraud more effectively through communication and
information sharing. FPU attended a conference at the Canadian High
Commission with fraud officers from the French and Germany
Embassies, and from the British and Canadian High Commissions. The
conference was a continuation of the meeting we hosted in the third
quarter of 2008, and focused on information sharing, fraud trends
and detection techniques, and a discussion to finalize the
memorandum of understanding in order to share deportee lists. The
conference was largely a success, as we now distribute information
on dangerous criminals found in media briefs between the respective
missions. The British High Commission presented an overview of
their risk assessment unit, while we presented an overview of
fingerprint mutilation. Both presentations sparked lively debate
about identity theft and the economy's affect on fraud trends. FPU,
in conjunction with our British and Canadian partners, plans to make
the conference a quarterly event.

--------------
AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN
--------------


26. (U) Post has recently seen an increase in H2B agents petitioning
for applicants to go to worksites (in particular, hotels) where
there is not sufficient work for them. The most recent example came
to the attention of Post by the US Consulate in Monterrey. Kingston
had been adjudicating a petition from GB Capital. Monterrey noted
that both the owner of GB and their lawyer contacted them directly
stating that the workers were required but when Monterrey FPU spoke
to the hotel, they confirmed that the workers were not required and
that in fact had been laying off workers due to the economic
downturn. Post plans to continue to work with Monterrey on this and
other H2B cases.

--------------
STAFFING AND TRAINING ISSUES
--------------


27. (U) The Fraud Prevention Operations Officer position has been
filled by Katherine Rafaniello, replacing Christiana Foreman who
left post in February. Melissa Bishop remains as the Fraud
Prevention Manager, in addition to her duties as the Deputy Chief of
the Visa Unit, with primary responsibility for NIV operations. In
February, Mrs. Rafaniello attended the Fraud Prevention for Managers
course at FSI. Two new FPU FSN positions have been classified
through the CAJE system and post expects to fill the positions
within the next month. The current FPU FSN positions have been
"re-CAJEd", resulting in a promotion of all three FSNs.
HEG