L.A. Lawyer Gets Year in Prison for Visa Fraud

SAN FRANCISCO — In the first such conviction in the nation, a lawyer accused of running a sophisticated labor certification fraud to spirit wealthy Iranians illegally into United States was sentenced Friday to one year in prison.

Los Angeles immigration lawyer John Garrisi, 36, was given the prison sentence and fined $5,000 by U.S. District Judge Robert H. Schnacke on his conviction on two counts of filing false statements.

It was the first successful prosecution in a 2-year-old, six-city program called Operation Strongtree, according to Labor Department investigator Wayne Padgett.

Allows Entry Into U.S.

Labor certification allows entry into the United States of aliens who can certify to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of Labor that they possess unique job skills that are in high demand or not available here.

With 16,000 labor certifications a year in California alone and only 20 investigators to check the claims, it has become an area known for abuse, Assistant U.S. Atty. Rudolfo Orjales said. Although clearly disappointed that Garrisi’s term was not longer, Orjales said the judge sent a message from the bench that the government must clean up the situation.

The INS and Department of Labor have joined to crack down on the practice and now have two lawyers in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles under investigation with charges expected, Padgett said.

Schnacke criticized the government agencies for largely ignoring what is believed to be a widespread abuse of the labor exemption. “The fraud was permitted to continue by the inaction of the departments of government that had responsibility for him,” Schnacke asserted.

Promised Work Permits

Garrisi used a system of placing ads in Iranian newspapers enticing wealthy Iranians with promises of INS work permits based on phony labor documents, at a cost of $2,500 to $3,000 each, Orjales said.

Garrisi pulled in an estimated $75,000 a week and managed to get hundreds of people into the country illegally by using the phony certifications, Orjales said. He established fake companies, created phony rubber stamps from foreign governments and produced visas in some instances, Orjales contended.

Although the Iranians could face deportation, only 10 of the hundreds admitted through Garrisi are expected to face that action.