From the US States Attorneys' Office:
MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Eleven men are in federal custody
following their arrest Wednesday in Myrtle Beach by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their
attempt to fraudulently acquire immigration documents.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's
Office for South Carolina have charged the men, 10 from Israel and one from
Kenya, for knowingly conspiring with each other to procure by fraud resident
alien and employment authorization documents.
The defendants, none of whom are
from South Carolina, are accused of traveling to Myrtle Beach to meet with who
they thought was a corrupt U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service employee.
The men are alleged to have paid the supposedly corrupt employee varying amounts
of money, typically $5,000 or $6,000, for the valid immigration documents.
Following the arrest operation, HSI special agents seized more than $120,000
from the defendants.
"Defending the integrity of our
immigration system is a key component of our national security system," said
Brock. D. Nicholson, special agent in charge of HSI Atlanta. "Those who seek to
corrupt our system must be swiftly identified and brought to justice."
The individuals arrested are charged
under a criminal indictment, which raises no inference of guilt. An
individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury
that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The defendants are:
- Nevo
Yosef Katzav
- Amir
Arpally
- Assi
David Nishri
- Einan
Salach
- Idan
Oren
- Omri
Lipman
- Anat
Bor
- Florence
Tiego
- Lior
Shriki
- Amos
Shmilovich
- Eran
Kol
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