FRAUD SUMMARY - LAGOS

UNCLAS LAGOS 000165

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR CA/FPP


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC NI
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - LAGOS

REF: 07 STATE 171211

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COUNTRY CONDITIONS
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1. Background: Nigeria covers 356,669 sq miles and has a
population of approximately 145 million. The major languages are
English (official),Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. Approximately 60% of
the population is below the poverty line for Nigeria. The current
GDP is 1,500 dollars, and the inflation rate is 8.2%. This high
poverty rate, coupled with the population pressures, induces
large-scale migration.


2. Nigeria has very limited internal controls over the issuance of
documents, to include passports. The lack of controls and a high
incidence of bribery that permeates every level of society create an
environment where anything and everything is available and for sale.
With enormous hunger for visas as an escape route, documents that
cannot be trusted, and security situations that make travel
difficult, Lagos is a high-fraud post.

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NIV FRAUD
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3. Nothing new to report.

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IV FRAUD
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4. Marriage to American citizens, which entitles foreign spouses to
a preference status for an immigrant visa, has been by far the most
common path to American residency and eventually citizenship. An
overwhelming percentage of all petitions are marriage based and this
makes it extremely susceptible to fraud.

5. In the following investigation, a purported husband turns
father-in-law! The IV section sent a case to FPU in order to verify
the relationship between subject and petitioner. This became
necessary because it patterns the recent fraud trends. Applicant is
allegedly the spouse of the petitioner, even though they are 36
years apart in age. Also the address of petitioner is listed as his
son who petitioned for him in 1995.Upon the receipt of the case in
FPU, an on-site investigation was carried out by FPU investigator in
order to verify the relationship. A young man was seen and
interviewed as he walked out of the address given by the applicant.
When questioned about applicant's identity, he recognized the
applicant and stated that she lives with them at the given address
which is their family house as the applicant is married to his
younger brother who lives in California, USA. The investigator at
this time became more inquisitive because the name given as the
applicant husband's name is not same with the name of the
petitioner. When questioned further on who the petitioner was,
source stated that the petitioner is his father and at the same time
the father of the applicant's husband, therefore the petitioner is
the applicant's father-in-law. He stated that the applicant was
married to her husband 3 or 4 years ago. He also stated that their
biological mother died in 1982 and that their father has two other
wives, who are still his wives. He stated that applicant's husband
was born in 1963, thereby making him 45 years old. He stated that
his father is an American citizen although he lives in Nigeria and
visits America periodically. He also stated that his brother who is
the husband of the applicant is an American citizen who lives at the
same address as that listed for petitioner. Investigation at this
point reveals that the applicant is actually married to the son of
petitioner who lives in the USA and not the petitioner.

6. An on-site investigation was carried out by Lagos FPU to
determine the genuineness of an applicant's marital claims. This is
a CR1 case. She claimed to be married to the petitioner who is an
American. While at the given address, the investigator met and
spoke with a lady who is a tenant in the premises and she identified
the principal applicant positively. She stated that she runs a
laundry outfit at the back of the compound. She then stated that
while her parents live at the address, the lady in question actually
lives at a different address with her husband. She even directed the
investigator to this address stating that there is a hair dressing
salon as well as a wine shop at the said address. When the
investigator got to this new address, the two ladies who run the
hair salon were seen and interviewed. They identified the applicant
and stated that it had not been long that she went out. They
confirmed that the applicant is married to a Nigerian from the
Yoruba tribe and even gave the name of the applicant's husband, who
had gone to work at the time of the interview. Both were said to
live as husband and wife at the address. At this point,
investigation impugned the veracity of the applicant's claimed
marital relationship with the petitioner.

7. F-1 unmarried adult child of American citizen fraud: To get to
the root of a case, an investigator at times has to mimic someone
else. The following incident narrated exactly how an investigator
pretended to be an applicant's friend during an onsite investigation
which was carried out to validate the applicant's claim as single.
At the given address, the investigator was directed to the caretaker
of the property who positively identified the applicant and stated
that the applicant had relocated to a new address at the other part
of the town and no longer lived at the address. When questioned
about when the applicant got married, he stated that applicant
wedded last year with a woman from his locality, and that after his
father's death soon after, he packed out to where he lives now. The
Caretaker even gave the investigator the applicant's telephone
number. The investigator called the applicant and got into a
conversation with him. The investigator speaking in native language
and sounding very casual asked the applicant why he did not invite
him to his wedding and did not even mention to him about his
father's death. The applicant gave excuses and apologized for not
extending the wedding invitation to the investigator. He admitted
getting married last year to a lady from his tribe and stated that
he and his wife are doing well in their new home. He also confirmed
the death of his father stating that it threw him into confusion.
This revelation positively put an end to the applicant's claim of
single status. Therefore, his claimed marriage to the petitioner is
sham and done for immigration purpose only.

8. In a related development, an on-site investigation was conducted
by FPU to verify if bio-parents of an applicant are still married to
each other as this is a step child petition. During the
investigation at the given address, the investigator met a man who
happens to be an uncle of the applicant and he was interviewed in
his home. He identified the applicant from her picture as his niece
and stated that she did not live there as she lives with her mother.
He stated that given address is a family house left to him and the
applicant's father by their parents. The investigator questioned him
if he sees the applicant's mother and he stated that they keep in
touch as the church the applicant's mother attends is close to his
house. The investigator further questioned him if applicant's
parents have any problems; he first stated that they are fine and
that his brother was around last year. He later recanted his story
and stated that they have a few problems.
The investigator visited the address of applicant's mother where she
was met and interviewed in her home. The applicant's mother denied
that the applicant lives with her. However, when confronted with the
fact that her brother-in-law had stated that the applicant lives
with her, she then stated that the she used to live with her
paternal grandmother, however she relocated to this residence
following the demise of her grandmother. When questioned when the
grandmother died, she stated that she could not remember when the
applicant's grandmother died. At this point, the investigator
telephoned the applicant so as to conduct a personal interview. When
she was asked where she lived, she stated that she lived at the
given address. When confronted with the fact that her uncle and
neighbors had stated otherwise, she reiterated that she lived there
and it was because she was in school that the investigator did not
see her, until she was told that even her mother had finally
admitted that she lived with her. When questioned when her paternal
grandmother died, she stated that she died in 2001. She stated that
her parents divorced in 2001 and she lived with her father until he
traveled to America in February 2003 and that was when she moved to
live with her mother. When questioned if her father ever went to
visit her mother at her address, subject stated that during his
visit in 2007, he came there. When questioned if he spent the night
there, she stated that he probably did although she was in the
school at the time. When asked why his father would spend the night
alone with her mother, she stated that because they may still love
each other. Based on these revelations from telephone conversation
with the applicant, it is obvious that she lives with her mother.
Because the investigator made it clear to her that detailed
information had been obtained about her parents, she admitted that
her father stayed with her mother while he was in Nigeria. It is
therefore clear that petition is for immigration purposes only as
applicant's parent are still married. The claimed divorce between
her parents and the claimed marriage between the petitioner and the
bio-dad is for immigration purpose only.

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DV FRAUD
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9. The relative ease of applying for a DV makes the program
incredibly vulnerable to fraud and abuse. There are many sudden
marriages after an applicant might have won. FPU carried out some
investigations to examine some of these sudden marriages and their
facilitators. A collection of wedding albums in FPU help to
establish different blocks of these facilitators. Late night calls
put nail on the coffin in an investigation that was carried out on
an applicant's academic claims and claimed marriage. At the end of
the interview session, the applicant's academic claims confirmed
genuine, however claimed martial relationship is confirmed to be a
sham and contracted for immigration purpose only. The two
applicants were interviewed separately in the Fraud Prevention Unit
of the U.S Consulate, Lagos. Regarding his academic credentials and
claims, DV1 demonstrated impressively that he is the bona fide owner
of his claimed results. DV1 gave a graphic illustration of the
location of his examination venue as well as his experience during
the examinations. He answered questions on subjects very
impressively, and demonstrated a good understanding of the subjects.
However, as regards his claimed martial relationship with DV2, who
is from Ile - Oluji, discrepant and derogatory information arose and
effectively cast doubt on the veracity of their claimed marital
relationship. DV1 and DV2 offered conflicting and contradictory
answers to simple questions bordering on their daily life together,
and when they were confronted with the contradictions, they openly
disagreed with each other with no chance of reconciling the
conflicting facts. For example, DV1 stated that he last gave DV2
N2,500 yesterday for soup, DV2 maintained that DV1 never gave her
money yesterday, but last gave her N5,000 for foodstuff in
Christmas. Again, DV1 stated that he had never gone to DV2's village
in Ile - Oluji, DV2 maintained that she and DV1 had visited her
hometown of Ile - Oluji. Also while DV1 denied knowledge of where
DV2's father works, DV2 maintained that he had visited her father's
office and she even introduced him to her father. There was also the
issue of their intimacy. DV1 stated that they began to have intimate
contact before their marriage, while DV2 maintained that their
intimate contact only started after their marriage. In a further
attempt to determine that DV 1 and DV2 are in a relationship, the
investigator on one night telephoned DV1 at 10:45 PM. DV1 answered
the called and was requested by the investigator to hand the phone
over to his wife, the DV2. After some interval of close to 5
minutes, a lady who claimed to be DV2 came on line. However, she was
unable to positively identify herself as DV2 as she could not answer
questions on the last interview with the investigator and other
details that arose from that interview. She was even unable to
mention correctly the name of her village, Ile - Oluji. As soon as
the phone was dropped, the investigator immediately called DV2 on
her own phone. She answered the call and her voice was distinctly
different from that of the woman who just finished speaking with the
investigator pretending to be DV2. She was asked after her husband,
DV1, and she stated that her husband was not at home, but had gone
out to get something. Asked how long ago this was, she stated that
it was more than 30 minutes ago. Unknown to her, the investigator
had just finished speaking to DV1 and the DV2 imposter. She was
asked whether any call had come to her from the Consulate since her
FPU interview, and she stated that the investigator's current call
was the first that she was receiving since then, thereby confirming
that the lady i.e. DV2 who spoke with the investigator earlier was
an imposter, and further confirming that the claimed marital
relationship between DV1 and herself is a sham.

10. In this scenario, the DV1 entered the lottery as married to DV2
and their pictures and information were regular. Their conduct,
however, raised concerns and the interviewing consular officer sent
the case to FPU for a split interview. The DV1 and DV2 were
interviewed in the Fraud Prevention Unit of the U.S Consulate,
Lagos. They both maintained in their separate interviews, which were
largely consistent, that they are truly married. While probing
deeper into the relationship at FPU, the investigator viewed one of
the registry photos with a magnifying lens and noticed that the
calendar at the background bore 2008 when the couple claimed to have
been married at the registry in 2006. When confronted based on this
observation, they confessed that they were not married at the time
of the DV entry. In fact, it was further revealed that while DV1
lives in a town, DV2 lives in another town entirely. At the end, DV2
confirmed that both are not really married yet. So the claimed
marital relationship confirmed to be a sham.

11. Paying attention to details is pivotal to the success of any
kind of investigation. The importance of this could be seen in the
following investigation that was conducted in the Fraud Prevention
Unit of the U.S Consulate, Lagos where DV1 and DV2 were interviewed.
Although DV1 and DV2 continued to persevere in their claims, and
were consistent in their split interview, the investigator examined
their marriage certificate and discovered that it was similar to
that of an applicant who had confessed the previous day. The
signatures of DV1 and DV2 on the marriage certificate were also on
the marriage certificate of the previous day all conducted in the
same marriage registry. Though the certificates were discovered to
be next to the other as per serial number, the marriages were
purported to have been conducted weeks apart. However, since the
applicant from the previous day had confessed that the marriage
which was conducted on paper in March was actually conducted in May,
the investigator confronted the DV1 with the forged certificates,
whereupon he admitted and confessed that the marriage was fixed.
With this development, claimed marital relationship confirmed to be
a sham.

12. A split interview was conducted to determine the bona fides of
claimed marital relationship between DV1 and DV2. They were
interviewed separately in the Fraud Prevention Unit of the U.S
Consulate, Lagos. After DV1 was interviewed by the investigator and
she recited the usual rhetoric of how DV2 proposed to her on her
birthday, etc. She put those statements in writing by way of a
sworn written statement which she signed. At that stage, the
investigator confronted her with the incredulity of her story and
persuaded her to confess to the truth in her best interest. After a
very long persuasion, DV1 then confessed that the post office boys
who brought her DV winning notification in March 2008 made
arrangements and matched her to DV2 on the understanding that DV2
will bankroll the expenses and provide accommodation in the U.S.
They then arranged and met for the introductions and wedding
ceremony. After that, they went their separate ways until the
interview morning. Upon being further questioned, DV1 revealed that
they were coached on questions to expect, with the warning that if
they fail to succeed in the first interview, they will be taken to
another place for another trial with very tough people, and that at
that stage, it was only God that could help them. She pleaded to be
protected as the boys handling the marriage fixing and DV2 will come
after her and hurt her if they discover that she had confessed.
Consequent upon this plea, the investigator also interviewed DV2 to
give him the appearance that DV1 did not give him and his cohorts
away. Apart from DV1's outright confession, the interview with DV2
generated substantial discrepancies and irreconcilable facts.

13. This is just one of numerous cases of which the wedding was
staged by wedding actors. DV1 and DV2 were both interviewed in the
Fraud Prevention Unit of the U.S Consulate, Lagos. Prior to the
split interview, the investigator analyzed the wedding pictures and
discovered that it matched with another wedding album in the FPU
collection with same actors and actress performing. The DV1 who was
asserting claims to a valid marriage soft pedaled when she was
confronted with the fact that the man who she claimed to be her
father is not her biological father but an imposter. The same man
appeared in another wedding album as officiating pastor and as the
father of groom in yet another wedding album. She wrote a confession
stating that DV2 is not her husband, and that the arrangement was
orchestrated by DV agents who brought in the DV2 to finance the
processing. She stated that they were to hold on to the Visa once
issued until she is able to reimburse them the cost of the visa
processing for herself.
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ACS AND U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD
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14. Nothing new to report.

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ADOPTION FRAUD
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15. An adoption order issued from a court in the eastern part of
the country and the orphan status of the juvenile was investigated
and the outcome was nothing but fraud. This case is specifically
interesting because of the new dimension it took. The adoptive
parents were impersonated and the court was successfully misled. At
the Magistrate's Court, the FPU investigator was able to speak with
a Senior Registrar of the Court. After examining a copy of the order
and checking from the records, she confirmed that the adoption order
was issued from the court. Further effort was made by the
investigator to confirm the orphan status led to discrepancies. The
director of child's rights in The Ministry of Women Affairs and
Social Welfare was met and interviewed in his office regarding this
case and other adoption cases generally. He gave useful insights
into the adoption situation in the state and the efforts of the
ministry to ensure integrity in the process as well as protecting
the welfare of the child. He confirmed knowledge of this case and
stated that a lot of misrepresentations were made resulting in the
erroneous issuance of the order. He clearly stated that it is
against the law for a non-Nigerian to adopt any juvenile from the
state. According to him, the case which ought to have originated
from the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare,
actually originated from a Local Government branch. The corrupt
officials participated in cover - ups and misrepresentations to the
State Ministry leading to the wrongful issuance of the order, he
stated. At the time of the proceedings in the court, the probation
officer had no knowledge that the adoptive parents were
non-Nigerians and maintained that the petitioner never came to court
for the adoption. Someone else covered up for them while the local
officials in the Local Government Social Welfare who initially
approved the case misrepresented to the State Ministry that the
adoptive parents were relatives of the officials. He stated that the
issue has been fully addressed and that the adoption order should be
disregarded. He apologized for the embarrassment. Though the
adoption order confirmed genuine, it was fraudulently and illegally
obtained.

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DNA TESTING
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16. DNA testing has proven an invaluable tool in the deterrence of
fraud. There are many instances where the evidence of relationship
that would allow officers to make their decisions is unreliable,
destroyed, or simply not available. Family photography, aside from
the occasional posed studio portrait, did not become widespread
until the late 1970s and early 1980s, and birth certificates have no
security features to speak of and can be obtained easily. Officers
request DNA testing fairly frequently. The buccal swab samples are
collected by an IV LES at the clinic where the required visa medical
examinations are conducted. This is a duty that is rotated around
the section. The Consulate sends the samples to the laboratory and
the notarized results are returned directly back to the Consulate
via courier.


17. The section is currently undergoing a statistical analysis of
DNA findings. A tracking spreadsheet has been created and is being
updated to show the processing of each case in 2008 in which DNA is
requested. As a result of this study, we hope to produce accurate
statistics to show how many applicants do not proceed with DNA and
also the percentage of negative DNA results. We hope to have this
study finished in the next few months. Applicants who know their
relationship is not bona fide, in general, do not follow through
with the DNA testing. Post has encountered several recent cases
where a principal applicant was asked to do a DNA test with a
derivative child, only for the principal applicant to return to the
Consulate and say that they changed their mind - they don't want the
child to travel after all. As the principal applicant (PA) has by
this point executed a visa application for the derivative, the PA is
told there will be no visa issuance until the requested DNA testing
is completed. In some cases, the principal applicant acquiesces and
the DNA results are negative, resulting in a 6E finding. Other
principal applicants attempt to remove the problematic child by
'killing them off' on paper - bringing in a fraudulent death
certificate. FPU investigation into these documents reveals the
fraud, and the end result is still a 6E.

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DHS FRAUD
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18. We continue to receive about ten requests a week for
transportation letters from legal permanent residents who report
their green cards lost or stolen. Without DHS presence at post or
access to their database, we struggle to confirm LPR status and
determine if the LPRs have a criminal record.


19. The FPU receives and processes investigation requests from
USCIS District Adjudicating Officers to verify documents submitted
for many different types of petitions in the United States, mostly
divorce decrees. The FPU assists with these verifications and
responds in a timely manner.

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ALIEN SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING
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20. In both the IV and NIV section we see frequent attempts at
alien smuggling, whether through a sham marriage or the addition of
an extra child. In some cases it is merely a member of the extended
family who simply does not have a legal claim to the immigration
benefit. However, in some cases, such as the DV clip-ons, there is
a financial motivation; someone has agreed to pay in order to have
that person added to an otherwise-legitimate application.

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DS INVESTIGATIONS
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21. The consular section in general and the FPU in particular work
closely with the ARSO/I assigned to Lagos. Cases are referred to
the ARSO/I from IV, NIV, and ACS units, with the referral documented
in the notes for the case. The ARSO/I has aided us in pursuing
marriage fraud rings stateside through his U.S.-based DS contacts,
and here in Lagos he has been pursuing the vendors of the fraudulent
documents presented in interviews. His close working relationship
with the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian police has resulted in
the arrest of a number of fraudulent applicants. Through spot
reports he keeps the consular section informed of the outcomes of
the referred cases. The ARSO/I usually takes referrals directly
from interviewing officers regarding instances of fraud that occur
on a daily basis, while complex investigations that FPU has
conducted are referred to the ARSO/I by the FPM. ARSO/I and the FPM
have a strong working relationship and often collaborate on
interviews, investigations and training. ARSO/I and FPM also
benefit from the strong support of the Consular Chief and the
Regional Security Officer.

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HOST COUNTRY DOCUMENTS
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22. While Nigeria has recently updated its passport design to
incorporate a microchip like the U.S. E-Passport, the older design
remains valid and in circulation. It consists of a biodata page
encased in plastic, UV-reactant features, and the passport number
punched into the top edge of the inside pages.


23. The new e-passport incorporates other security features in
addition to the microchip. It includes holographic and UV-reactant
features and each visa page in the booklet has the passport number
punched into the outside edge. It is important to note that, while
the document itself may appear more secure, the underlying process
in order to obtain the passport remains highly flawed. Applicants
for a Nigerian passport must submit a national identification card
or a birth certificate, both of which are easily obtained on the
open market, and they must submit an affidavit from a 'guarantor'
who will attest to their good character. Attempts by Nigerian
immigration to use biometrics collection to preclude passport
issuance in multiple identities are hampered by the lack of
infrastructure that would allow a passport office in one end of the
country to connect via a network to an office on the other end.
Even with the additional security features, the Nigerian passport
remains an insecure and easily obtainable document.


24. Civil documents, by contrast, have essentially no security
features. Marriage certificates vary widely in appearance; while
they follow the same basic format, each local government authority
has its own design. Marriage certificates and birth certificates
are both filled out by hand in ball point pen, and are printed on
plain white paper. These documents are incredibly easy to forge.
In addition, controls and oversight in government offices are such
that for sufficient payment a person can obtain virtually any
government document from the source. Recently, we have been able to
spot fraudulent divorce decrees by one registrar's signature. With
very few exceptions, documents are taken with a grain of salt, and
without verification by FPU that there is a corresponding entry in
the logbook of the office that supposedly issued the certificate or
court order, we consider most documents to be of very little value.


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COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT
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25. The FPU has enjoyed a strong relationship with the Nigerian
Police Department for many years, referring cases to them where
Nigerian laws have been broken. The Special Fraud Unit has aided in
the arrest of applicants who have presented fraudulent documents, as
well as tracking down the document vendors.


26. The FPU has also enjoyed years of support from local
governments, schools and marriage registries in our verifications of
documents. Lately, however, FPU investigators have been harassed by
National Population Commission to provide money for verifications,
usually 10,000 Naira, the equivalent of about 70 dollars. This is
apparently a revenue collecting scheme on the part of the National
Population Commission. In some cases, the working relationship
between the investigator and the official, with whom they have dealt
before, has meant the registrar could be persuaded to waive the fee;
many of these government officials, however, are becoming more
hard-line on this fee, making document verification a costly
prospect.

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STAFFING AND TRAINING
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27. The FPU comprises FSO Fraud Prevention Manager Kelley Irey, LES
Fraud Investigator Supervisor Roma Eyen, LES Fraud Investigator
Ijeoma Ndurue, LES Fraud Analyst Samuel Olorunsogo.

BLAIR