Man ran student fraud ring
SANTA ANA (AP) – A California man was charged Monday with operating a ring of illegal test-takers who helped dozens of Middle Eastern nationals obtain U.S. student visas by passing various proficiency and college-placement exams for them, federal authorities said. Eamonn Daniel Higgins, 46, of Laguna Niguel made an appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud as federal immigration agents arrested 16 of his suspected clients who remained in Southern California. A judge entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Higgins. The allegations revealed a potentially dangerous security breach in the country’s student visa system and underscored the vulnerability of a tracking process that relies on schools to verify the identities of people taking the mandated exams. In one case, a blond woman working for Higgins was allowed to take an exam using a fake ID that paired her photo with a man’s Arabic name, said Debra Parker, acting deputy special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles. Authorities have not said any of the clients were engaged in terrorist activity and have yet to determine their motives for hiring Higgins. Still, the investigation has alarmed immigration authorities, Parker said.
L.A. man gets 18 years for scheme
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Los Angeles man who tried to hire a hitman to kill an informant in his bank fraud case has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. Twenty-eight-year-old Pavel Valkovich was sentenced Monday in federal court. Prosecutors say Valkovich was involved in a ring that used stolen personal identifying information to transfer money from victims’ accounts into PayPal accounts that he and others could access. Authorities say that after his arraignment, Valkovich offered $10,000 to a man to stage a drive-by shooting to kill a federal informant in the case. He pleaded guilty last year to bank fraud and solicitation of murder.
Courts begin layoffs
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles County Superior Court is laying off 329 staff members next month and officials say more than 1,000 others may go in the next two years because of budget cuts. A memo from Court Executive Officer John Clarke to employees says the first layoffs will begin on April 1. Clarke says an additional 500 layoffs are planned for September.