Goans migrate to various countries in a search of a job and better future, but many of them also become the victim of a fraud. This is the case of a fraud wherein a 30-year-old Goan was deported from the US over the issue of a fake job certificate. This youth paid more than 3 lakhs to the Agent who is accused of preparing a fake employment document.
According to the report published by the Times of India, A Goan was deported to Bengaluru from New York on Tuesday after US immigration officials found his employment certificate to be fake.
Valezio Fernandes who is a victim of a fraud is a resident of Maina Curtorim in south Goa and he was deported by the US government to back to India via British Airways flight number (BA-119) has now become the co-accused on the fraud case.
The reports say that he was nabbed by immigration officials. He was handed over to Kempegowda International Airport police for further probe.
Police have registered a case of cheating and forgery against Valezio. The middleman, Savio Fernandes of Margoa, who allegedly provided fake documents to Valezio, has been named as second accused in the case.
The story goes like this, the victim (now accused of fraud) Valezio Fernandes had completed his SSC and later joined the six-month Hotel Management course. After completing the course, he worked as a cook for the hotel in Goa for a period of three years.
Later on, he went on to work on the ship for six years where he came in contact with the second accused Savio, who promised him a job abroad.
Savio agreed to arrange an employment certificate and visa for him in exchange for Rs 1.5 lakh. Following this, Valezio paid Savio Rs 75,000 and tried to travel to New York from Mumbai airport on December 23, 2018.
But he failed due to technical reasons and had to pay Savio Rs 1.2 lakh more, after which he travelled to New York from KIA on December 30.
Police said they have registered a case of cheating and forgery against Valezio based on a complaint by T Vijay, an immigration officer at KIA. The middleman, Savio Fernandes of Margoa, who allegedly provided fake documents to Valezio, has been named as the second accused in the case is presently absconding and efforts are on to nab him.
He was in possession of fake employment certificate to join a food joint in US. But US immigration officials found the certificate to be fake and sent him back to Bengaluru via London, said the sources.
According to the New India Express, Fernandes was duped by the agent Savio “Fernandes was duped by an agent who handed him an offer of employment from Domino’s Pizza in the Cayman Islands. The agent collected an advance of Rs 75,000 from him out of the total fee of Rs 1.5 lakh. He tried leaving from India to the Cayman Islands via the Mumbai airport, but immigration authorities insisted on a police clearance certificate.”
The agent, later, suggested he leave from KIA, and asked him to hand over Rs 1,22,000 towards flight tickets. Fernandes managed to leave from here and reach the US, where he was to take a connecting flight to the Cayman Islands. However, US immigration authorities cross-checked the employment letter and found it to be fake. They deported him back to Bengaluru. Fernandes has been booked under IPC Sections 420 and 465, and investigations are on.
The immigration fraud has been taken very seriously in the USA and this includes the US-born nationals of foreign origin.
