Louisiana police chiefs charged in immigrant visa fraud scheme

Federal prosecutors have indicted five people in Louisiana, including three current and former police chiefs, in an alleged scheme to file bogus police reports that enabled immigrants to apply for special visas in exchange for thousands of dollars.

According to the 62-count indictment, the defendants falsified police reports, which listed immigrants as victims of fabricated crimes so they could apply for U-visas.

The U nonimmigrant status, or U-visa, allows people who have been the victims of crimes to obtain temporary legal status in the U.S. The visa is “set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.”

All five defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and mail fraud. Some also face charges of money laundering, visa fraud and bribery, according to court documents.

In the indictment, federal prosecutors allege that between December 2015 and earlier this week the defendants conspired with each other to authenticate “false police reports in several central Louisiana parishes.”

The reports, the indictment states, “listed several victims of purported armed robberies in the central Louisiana area.” The bogus reports were produced “so that the purported victims of the robberies could apply for U-Visas.”

One of the defendants, a Louisiana businessman, worked as an intermediary between immigrants seeking U-Visas and his four law enforcement partners in the scheme, according to the indictment.

For each purported victim named on these police reports, prosecutors allege the businessman would pay his accused co-conspirators $5,000.

The businessman attained a U-Visa himself in 2023 “based on his alleged status as a victim of armed robbery,” according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendants face years or decades in prison, as well as substantial fines.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said additional state charges were likely.

“We are now reviewing the evidence and expect additional state charges will follow,” she wrote in a statement on Facebook.

“Public officials – especially those in law enforcement – who conspire to commit fraud and obstruct justice violate the public trust and undermine faith in justice. They will be held accountable.”