Branson man pleads guilty to federal immigration fraud

news-leader.com
Written by
News-Leader staff
5:30 PM, Dec. 20, 2011

A Branson man is facing a 10-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to his part in a fraud scheme involving immigration visas.

John Voisine, 54, entered a plea to visa fraud charges in federal court for the Western District of Missouri today. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Voisine knowingly submitted false applications to have Filipino workers come to the United States on H2B visas.

The immigrants were supposed to be working as housekeepers in hotels and motels in Branson for Voisine’s Santa Cruz Management company. In reality, Voisine had sent the workers to Myrtle Beach, S.C., even though he did not have approval to employ visa workers there.

The attorney’s office said the investigation into Voisine’s business was started at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines in 2007, after noticing Santa Cruz requested a “significantly higher” number of workers than previous years. The U.S. Attorney listed Voisine as a former owner, but didn’t say whether Santa Cruz had been sold or shuttered following the investigation.

In addition to a possible prison sentence, Voisine agreed to forfeit $169,661, which represented his profits from the fraud scheme. He is also subject to a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date hasn’t been set yet.

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