Hiral Patel pled guilty this month to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The scheme involved sponsoring foreign workers for their work visas while assuring the government that the workers were full-time employees with yearly salaries. But the workers only received a paycheck when they were contracted out by the companies to a third-party client.
And workers who did not get work from the client had to pay the companies the equivalent of their gross wages so that the companies could then show “proof” to the government that the workers were full-time employees. Patel is looking at a maximum five-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.