MAN FOUND GUILTY BY MANHATTAN JURY OF PARTICIPATING
IN MASSIVE IMMIGRATION FRAUD SCHEME

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that PETER ABSOLAM, a/k/a "Lloyd," 59, was found guilty today by a jury in Manhattan federal court in connection with a sham marriage scheme that netted the participants more than one million dollars. According to the Indictment, other documents filed in this case, and the evidence at trial:

ABSOLAM referred potential clients to Help Preparers Professional Services ("HPPS"), a Queens business, that purported to offer its customers assistance in a variety of financial and legal matters. In fact, the primary business at HPPS was fraudulently procuring permanent resident documents, or "green cards," from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("CIS"), formerly known as the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS"), in exchange for fees ranging from $8,000 to $16,000. The owner-operator of HPPS, BEVERLY MOZERBROWNE conspired with various others, including her brother, PHILLIP A. BROWNE, then employed by CIS as a District Adjudication Officer, who then approved the applications without requiring the applicants to appear for interviews. From approximately April 2001 through November 2005, the conspirators fraudulently procured hundreds of green cards from CIS, reaping fees totaling more than $1 million.

ABSOLAM introduced a specific potential client to HPPS in May 2005. The potential client was, in fact, a concerned individual in the community who had come across the scheme, reported it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") and Department of Homeland Security's United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), and agreed to work undercover. The fraudulent scheme came to light through the efforts of this concerned individual. The evidence against ABSOLAM included audio recordings of conversations and meetings during which ABSOLAM discussed the fraudulent green card scheme.

ABSOLAM, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of the greater of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense. ABSOLAM is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge LAWRENCE M. McKENNA on December 3, 2007.

Twenty-nine other defendants have been charged in this case, and twenty-six have pleaded guilty. Charges against the remaining defendants, including BEVERLY MOZER-BROWNE and PHILLIP BROWNE, remain pending; as to those defendants, the charges in the Indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative work of the FBI and ICE, as well as the work of the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security.

Assistant United States Attorneys CHRISTINE Y. WONG and MICHAEL A. LEVY are in charge of the prosecution.

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