ICE HSI agents make arrests linked to CNMI visa fraud scheme

HONOLULU — Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested two employees of A&A Enterprise CNMI, LLC on charges of visa fraud and conspiracy, July 9.

Alejandro Nario, 65, and Mylene Casupanan, 42, both citizens of the Republic of the Philippines, were taken into custody, without incident, for possible involvement in a visa fraud scheme.

An HSI investigation found that A&A Enterprise petitioned and submitted false documents for more than 100 foreign nationals using the CW-1 visa. The program allows employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to apply for permission to employ those who are ineligible to work under other nonimmigrant worker categories.

HSI agents also discovered that a significant number of the foreign workers were not given jobs once they arrived in CNMI and were instructed to pay A&A Enterprise for their employment taxes, which were based on fictitious wages.

This is an ongoing HSI led investigation with significant cooperation from CNMI Department of Public Safety and CNMI Customs Service.

HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 Special Agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.