Major Alien Smuggling Ring Broken Up In Northwest Florida

Posted: 9:36 PM Sep 20, 2007
Last Updated: 9:36 PM Sep 20, 2007


Three men have been indicted for their role in a large alien smuggling-visa fraud scheme which illegally brought more than 200 aliens into the area of Panama City Beach and Destin, Florida to work in major hotels and resorts.

A Federal Grand Jury has returned a twenty-seven count indictment charging Aleksander V. Berman (also known as Alex Berman), 38, Justin Eric King, 26, and Vyacheskave Adol’fovich Finkel (also known as Stan Finkel), 45, with conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to enrich themselves by illegally bringing aliens into the country to work in the hotel industry.

The indictment also charges alien smuggling, visa fraud and mail fraud.

Berman, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the former Soviet Union, has been in custody since he was arrested and charged on August 22.

King, an American citizen and resident of Walton County, Florida, was also charged by Complaint on the same date.

Finkel, a legal permanent resident, was arrested on September 20 after return of the indictment.

Last week, Anna Czerwien, 57, pleaded guilty to a twelve-count information, admitting her part in the conspiracy which began as early as 1999 in Georgia and continued until this year in Florida.

Czerwien was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, ten counts of visa fraud, and one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce aliens to come to, enter and reside in the United States.

Sentencing is scheduled before Senior United States District Judge Lacey A. Collier for November 27, 2007 at 11:30 a.m.

According to the indictment, Berman was the chief financial officer of “Eurohouse Holding Corp.â€