I.C.E. News Release

November 19, 2008

Virginia attorney indicted in connection with a large-scale immigration fraud investigation


ALEXANDRIA, VA - Michael Mitry Hadeed, Jr., an attorney who practices law in Northern Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia in connection with an ongoing investigation of a large-scale immigration fraud scheme stemming from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the lead agency on the case.

"ICE strives to protect the integrity of our immigration system from those who attempt to abuse it by detecting and dismantling these fraud schemes," said Mark X. McGraw, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, ICE, Washington Field Division. "Disrupting these types of operations is crucial to stopping dangerous criminals and even potential terrorists from fraudulently entering the U.S. and obscuring their identities."

The four-count indictment returned Tuesday, November 18, charged Michael Mitry Hadeed, Jr., 50, with conspiring to commit immigration fraud, committing immigration fraud, and making false statements to a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Labor, the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation was worked jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

According to the indictment, beginning in 1999 and continuing through at least May 2005, the defendant filed fraudulent employment-based immigration documents on behalf of foreign nationals and aliens already in the United States seeking work authorization and permanent residency in the United States. The indictment details how the defendant used the King of Pita Bakery in Alexandria, Va., to sponsor foreign nationals and aliens for either no-show jobs or jobs for which they were employed, but not qualified. To support these immigration documents, the indictment alleges that the defendants created documents making false claims about the aliens' work experience and offers of employment.

If convicted of the charges, Hadeed faces up to: five years on the conspiracy charge; eight years on the false statement charge; and ten years on the two immigration charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned on December 5, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, and Mark X. McGraw, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Washington Field Division.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0811/081119alexandria.htm