Nineteen individuals were arrested across the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador in a coordinated law enforcement operation targeting an alleged transnational visa fraud, racketeering, and money laundering scheme. According to U.S. authorities, five of those arrested face charges in a U.S. indictment for their roles in a four-year scheme that reportedly defrauded thousands of Central and South American nationals seeking legal employment in the United States. The total amount lost by victims is estimated at over $2.5 million.
The U.S.-based defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to defraud the United States by impersonating officials and using counterfeit seals from U.S. departments and agencies. Arrests occurred in Sacramento, California; the Dallas area; and Medellin, Colombia. One defendant remains at large in Colombia.
Other arrests were made in Ecuador and El Salvador as part of related investigations that will likely lead to separate charges within those countries.
“These defendants are charged with masquerading as United States officials in order to fraudulently enrich themselves at the expense of victims seeking to lawfully travel to the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendants are alleged to have deployed their scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars from hundreds of victims. The Criminal Division will aggressively pursue schemes that undermine immigration laws and erode confidence in government processes.”
“The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is committed to protecting the integrity of U.S. travel documents and investigating those who seek to exploit the visa and passport process,” said Chief Joseph Jung of the DSS Overseas Criminal Investigations Division. “This operation demonstrates the strength of our international law enforcement partnerships and our resolve to hold fraudsters accountable. DSS is proud to have supported this coordinated effort, which has resulted in arrests across four countries and the disruption of a transnational visa and financial fraud scheme affecting victims throughout Latin and South America.”
“HSI and our federal partners have successfully dismantled a sophisticated international multi-million-dollar immigration fraud scheme that not only spanned multiple countries, but also preyed on thousands of migrants seeking to enter the United States the right way,” said Assistant Director for International Operations Ricardo Mayoral of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Our mission is to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system after years of abuse and neglect. HSI and our federal partners will not rest until this scourge is finally put to rest.”
“U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Investigations Office of Inspector General (USAID/OIG) works in close coordination with our law enforcement counterparts to aggressively disrupt criminal activity across the globe to ensure significant consequences for defrauding the United States.” said Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Zachary Baumgart for the USAID/OIG.
Victims were led through what appeared to be legitimate visa application processes via Facebook pages or other websites that falsely promised help obtaining work visas for entry into the United States. Co-conspirators known as "asesores" operated illegal call centers based in Colombia where they posed as consultants offering assistance with applications while providing misleading information about job opportunities.
The accused allegedly impersonated U.S. government officials during video calls with victims, convincing them they needed to pay fees via international wire transfers routed through intermediaries located across 16 states within the U.S., before funds were ultimately sent abroad—often changing hands multiple times en route back to leaders overseas.
Many victims traveled long distances expecting appointments at U.S. embassies based on fake confirmations; these appointments did not exist, resulting in further losses for those affected.
Authorities report interviewing around 700 victims so far but believe more than 7,000 people may have been impacted by this scheme since approximately 2021.
Six individuals were indicted on October 1, 2025: Edwin Alberto Correa-David (allegedly supervised several call centers), Andres Giraldo-Ospina (reportedly created fraudulent websites), Danna Pamela Porras-Marin (managed administrative support), Esteban Robledo-Correa (served as intermediary manager; currently fugitive), Julian Giraldo-Ospina (arrested in Sacramento), and Viviana Urrego-Rojas (arrested in Denton, Texas).
In addition to operations led by U.S agencies such as USAID/OIG; DSS; Department of Homeland Security components including HSI; Citizenship & Immigration Services; Enforcement & Removal Operations; Customs & Border Protection—significant cooperation came from police forces and prosecutors’ offices across Colombia, El Salvador, and Ecuador.
Anyone who believes they may be a victim can contact authorities at FakeVisaVictim@state.gov.
All individuals named are presumed innocent until proven guilty.