Indiana lawyer pleads guilty in visa application fraud case
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A suburban Indianapolis lawyer who authorities say filed more than 250 false visa applications and collected about $750,000 in fraudulent fees has pleaded guilty in the case.
The Justice Department announced Thursday a plea by 45-year-old Joel Paul of Fishers to charges including mail fraud, immigration document fraud and aggravated identity theft related to the fraudulent U visa applications.
The Associated Press sent an email seeking comment Friday to his lawyer. Sentencing is expected to take place early next year.
The U visa is a special category of visas granted to crime victims. According to the plea agreement, Paul admitted that from 2013 to 2017 he submitted the applications without his clients’ knowledge. Many applications falsely asserted they were crime victims and had helped investigators.
