The U.S. Department of Homeland Security set up a fake college in Michigan to ban people who intended to stay in the U.S. by overstaying their student visas.
Federal agents arrested and indicted eight people in a case for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and harboring aliens for profit, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The students enrolled at a fake university, called the “University of Farmington,” in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, with plans to obtain jobs under the Curricular Practical Training visa program, said the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider.
International students who have come to the United States legally and intend to work must obtain work visas through their schools, which are approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
Students using the visa must stay enrolled in classes or leave the country in 60 days.
The federal indictment alleges that starting in February 2017, the undocumented immigrants “conspired with each other and others to fraudulently facilitate hundreds of foreign nationals in illegally remaining and working in the United States by actively recruiting them to enroll into a metro Detroit private university that, unbeknownst to the conspirators, was operated by HSI (Homeland Security Investigation) special agents as part of an undercover operation.”
The eight defendants charged are accused of helping enroll the students in exchange for cash, kickbacks, and tuition credits as part of the scheme, according to the Free Press.
On a website that was still active as of Thursday, the college sells itself as “a nationally accredited business and STEM institution located in Metro Detroit.”
“Our innovative curriculum combines traditional instruction and distance learning with full-time professional experiences,” an introduction to the school reads. “Please explore our academic offerings to see if University of Farmington is the right place to achieve your success.”
[Also read: ‘A WALL is a WALL’: Trump mocks Congress for talking about fences, barriers]
