Vi$a fraud: Andhra man fakes university degree, inflates bank balance with borrowed funds
NEW DELHI: An FIR was filed against a 25-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh by Delhi Police after the US Embassy complained he allegedly submitted forged documents while applying for a non-immigrant visa.The complaint was received by Chanakyapuri police on Aug 8. According to the complaint, the man had appeared at the US Embassy in Delhi on Aug 7 to apply for a non-immigrant visa. As part of his application, he submitted several documents from a Rajasthan-based university, claiming to have completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Computers.The man further submitted an appraisal letter from a company, showing a monthly salary of Rs 35,000, and an experience letter claiming he had worked there from Dec 27, 2023, to July 31, 2026. He also furnished a financial net-worth certificate showing assets worth Rs 1.2 crore, along with bank documents showing balances of Rs 45 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.However, during his visa interview on Aug 7, he allegedly admitted to embassy officials that he had never attended classes at the university and that the degree, marksheets, transcripts, semester grade reports, migration certificate and provisional certificate submitted by him were fake. He allegedly told officials the educational documents had been provided to him by a visa agent, Nitin, in Vijayawada.He also admitted the bank statement submitted with his application was fabricated and had been prepared at Nitin’s direction. He further told the embassy officials he had worked at the company for only two to two-and-a-half months, contrary to the two-and-a-half years claimed in his experience certificate. According to the complaint, he said his uncle owned the company and had provided him with the employment documents.The man also allegedly admitted that his family had borrowed money to show higher balances in the net worth statement and bank accounts. He acknowledged that the loan amount had not been reflected in the net worth statement.“Based on our knowledge of the circumstances of this case and our experience and training in conducting document fraud investigations, we have reasonable and probable cause to believe that the candidate conspired with the visa agent in Vijayawada and other unknown individuals to obtain fraudulent bank, education, employment and net worth documents,” the embassy official said in the complaint.The embassy said the documents were prepared to defraud it and US govt, and obtain a visa through forged claims and misrepresentations. The official handed over the suspect to cops, following which a case was registered at Chanakyapuri police station.
