Paul Fishman ’78, U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, unveiled a sting operation in which 21 defendants were charged with enabling student visa fraud this past Tuesday.
In an effort to expose conspirators, most of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens, the Department of Homeland Security created an artificial institution named the “University of Northern New Jersey.”
A cached page of the school’s website and Twitter showed that UNNJ adopted a logo with striking resemblance to the University’s own. In particular, UNNJ’s logo features a shield with identical geometric configuration as the University’s. UNNJ’s shield, however, is colored with purple and green rather than orange and black.
According to University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan, the University was not aware of the logo’s use. The University is in no way involved in the matter, Pullan noted.
Pullan said that the University will not be issuing any verbal response in light of the similarities.
University General Consel Ramona Romero did not respond to requests for comment.
The Homeland Security Investigation Bureau and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began the operation in September 2013, which involved creating UNNJ, supposedly located in Cranford, N.J., according to a statement provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Throughout the duration of the scheme, UNNJ maintained a professional website, a Facebook page and a Twitter account.
Undercover DHS agents posed as UNNJ administrators, and were communicating with the defendants who allegedly had facilitated and recruited foreign national clients to enroll in UNNJ and fraudulently maintain student visa status in exchange for “commissions.”
In exchange for providing these services to these clients, defendants were given monetary rewards ranging between $1,000-1,500 per student, the statement said.
Under normal circumstances, accredited universities are able to issue F-1 Student Status, commonly referred to as student visas, by certifying that a foreign individual had been accepted to a school and would be a full-time student.
In this case, the statement noted that the defendants involved with UNNJ had admitted to undercover agents that none of their foreign national clients would attend actual courses, earn credits or obtain a legitimate degree.
The defendants allegedly assisted their clients by creating fake student records. This included forging transcripts, attendance records, diplomas, false contracts and employment verification letters, all of which were signed and stamped by the UNNJ agents, the statement explained.
Additionally, the defendants had allegedly used UNNJ as a channel to obtain work authorization and work visas for hundreds of clients, the statement read.
“The schools are nothing more than sham visa mills. They have no curriculum, no classes, no instructors and no real students. These purported schools and their corrupt administrators simply give out I-20 forms in exchange for payment,” Fishman noted in a press conference on Tuesday.
Alvin Phillips, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations spokesman, said he recognized parallels between the two designs, although he wasn't aware of the similarities before. However, he noted that the two designs are nevertheless distinct.
“Our staff reviewed many shield designs throughout the process of UNNJ development. Although the shield may be similar to Princeton or other universities, they are indeed different,” Phillips said.
Phillips explained that in addition to differences in color schemes, UNNJ’s logo has a different winding, as well as a different inscription, compared to the University’s.
While the University's logo bears the Latin motto "Dei Sub Numine Viget," the school's logo bears an inscription "Humanus, Scientia, Integritas."
William Skaggs, a spokesperson for Fishman in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, stated that his office was not responsible for designing the logo that bore “uncanny resemblance” to that of the University’s and was not aware of the resemblance before.
The office is only prosecuting the case, Skaggs said, adding that Fishman did not participate in the scheme through any other capacity.
"Paul didn't just grab his alma mater's logo and slap it on UNNJ," he said.
The 21 defendants may face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and making a false statement, according to the statement. The students enrolled at UNNJ do not face charges, but may be deported in the near future.
In the press conference, Fishman said fraudulent student visa schemes are a national threat.
““Pay to Stay’ schemes not only damage our perception of legitimate student and foreign worker visa programs, they also pose a very real threat to national security,” said Fishman.He added that he was proud of the work that the HSI and his office did.
“Today’s arrests, which were made possible by the great undercover work of our law enforcement partners, stopped brokers, recruiters and employers across multiple states who recklessly exploited our immigration system for financial gain,” he added.
The logo, first created in 1896 when the University changed its name from The College of New Jersey to Princeton University, features a orange-and-black bicolored shield in the center and an open Bible containing the phrase "VET NOV TESTAMENTUM." The University's latin motto surrounds the shield's bottom part, and the entire logo isencircled by the phrase "sigillum universitatis princetoniensis," meaning "the seal of Princeton University."
Ina December 2012interview with the Daily Princetonian, Laurel Cantor, University creative director with the Office of Communications, noted that the University usesa smaller version of the shield on the Internet with inscriptions too small to be legible to"make it harder to pirate the trademark."
She added while anyone in the Princeton community can request permission to use the shield, commercial use of the logo requires approval by theUniversity’s trademark licensing office.
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