Thread: Now, they're in the circus!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-mimm ... 1782.story

Some ran off to join 'circus,' got into U.S.
Phony performers entered illegally with help from an Orlando man, charges say.

Jim Leusner | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 12, 2006

Acrobats, jugglers and contortionists they weren't.

But with the help of an Orlando man offering bogus circus contracts in Florida, 872 impostors from Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and other countries paid up to $4,000 each to be illegally smuggled into the country during the past 10 years, federal investigators charged Monday.

Constantin Ciprian Durbalau, 30, a Romanian citizen who has lived in Orlando and Davenport in the past few years, was arrested Thursday night at Orlando International Airport after returning from his country. At a hearing Monday, U.S. Magistrate James Glazebrook ordered Durbalau held without bail on charges of smuggling aliens for financial gain and aiding and abetting forged immigration documents.

"This is a new type of case we've had in Orlando with alleged circus workers," said Mark Garrand, head of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Orlando. "It's not like going to the coyote on the [Mexican] border to get you into the country. It's going to a more sophisticated kind of smuggler -- a more white-collar kind of smuggler."

At Monday's hearing, Blake Hayes, an agent with the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, testified that Durbalau was part of a broader criminal organization operated by Kristo Ivanov, an Orlando man who operated Magic Star Entertainment Inc. and Magic Star Entertainment Agency Inc.

Those companies submitted 170 visa petitions to U.S. embassies overseas for 872 performers who were issued P-1 visas for internationally recognized athletes or performers or O-1 visas for foreigners with extraordinary skills in science, arts, education or athletics from 1997 to 2006, according to the arrest affidavit.

"Ivanov and Durbalau presented contracts from small Florida circuses when in fact, no contracts existed," it said.

Durbalau said he had a role in helping Ivanov obtain 30 fraudulent visas from Romania. Five immigrants also interviewed by investigators said Durbalau charged between $2,000 and $4,000 per person -- and one unidentified witness said Durbalau earned more than $125,000, Hayes and arrest records say.

After arriving in the U.S., the illegal immigrants worked in carpentry, housekeeping and unskilled-labor jobs, the affidavit said.

In court Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins said Ivanov has been questioned by authorities and is expected to be charged in the future.

Ivanov, a former Epcot acrobat who said he runs a talent agency placing different types of performers, told the Sentinel that he was unaware Durbalau was back in the country or had been arrested. Durbalau, he said, had worked in his business until three years ago.

"Whatever Durbalau did, that's his problem," he said.

Ivanov, a 59-year-old from Bulgaria, would not answer questions about allegations of criminal behavior against him, saying he needed to consult with his lawyer.

At the bail hearing, Assistant Federal Public Defender Clarence Counts said it was unfair his client was being jailed while Ivanov -- alleged to be the mastermind -- was free. Durbalau was aware of the investigation and still returned to Florida to be with his wife, Counts said.

Counts also said that his client was a part-time coach at Orlando Metro Gymnastics. An official there said he was an unpaid coach, had not worked there in months and was a former member of the Romanian international gymnastics team.

Immigration officials said they would be sending letters notifying the illegal-visa holders -- many thought to be in the Orlando area -- that they must leave the country or face arrest.

"We will follow up," the ICE's Garrand said.

Jim Leusner can be reached at jleusner@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5411.

This does not surprise me as being raised by eastern Europeans and being within the community I see and hear a lot about it. They also have another scam going on involving women. The women come over and get into the escort business. Once they get caught, as those places are often raided by police, they claim that they cannot go back home due to the shame and harrassment that they will experience as well as their families. This is almost a guaranteed green card. It won't be long before this scam makes the news.

See? This is why I believe all immigration should stop for a while...Visa's, green cards, what have you!

There are too many scams and loop holes, these need fixed along with putting up the wall, before anything else takes place.