Last updated November 24, 2008 4:17 p.m. PT

Seattle nightclub owner charged with visa fraud

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE -- A Seattle nightclub owner faces federal charges that he tried to help other immigrants, including a felon, obtain fraudulent green cards.

Marcos Neumann Garcia was arrested Monday. A complaint filed in U.S. District Court says he paid $42,500 to undercover agents who pretended to have connections to corrupt immigration officials. In one case, the charging papers say, he tried to have someone deported after that person had paid him $30,000 to obtain fake immigration documents.

Federal prosecutors say Neumann Garcia has an ownership interest in the Barracuda Lounge, a Latin nightclub near Pike Place Market in Seattle, though he may have recently taken steps to sell that interest. They also say he worked as a mortgage broker, and made commissions by falsifying loan papers for undocumented immigrants.

Neumann Garcia made an initial court appearance Monday. His lawyer said she could not immediately comment about the case.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/642 ... fraud.html