A federal grand jury in Topeka, Kansas has slapped charges of visa fraud and conspiracy against nine students from Nepal attending Kansas State University. Federal prosecutors allege that their applications contained false financial information in order to maintain their non-immigrant visas.
According to U.S. Attorney, Barry Grissom, the defendants furnished false bank statements that funded their studies at K-State while supporting themselves and their dependents.
The indictment states that the federal felonies committed in the fall of 2008, had student's temporarily borrowing money from fellow Nepalese students to gain a notarized bank letter supporting their financial status. Once they obtained the letter, they would return the funds to the original students.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
The indicted students from the South Asia country are: Mahendra Thapa, 33; Khem Acharya, 41; Raj Kumar Dani, 37; Santosh Ghimire, 37; Lila Ballav Pandey, 41; Laxman Pokhrel, 37; Keshar Prasain, 38; Govind Paneru, 32; and Narayan Chapagain, 43.
