Thread: U.S. Accuses Woman of Flight-School Visa Fraud

U.S. Accuses Woman of Flight-School Visa Fraud .

LOS ANGELES—Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a Southern California woman they said helped foreign nationals fraudulently apply for student visas to attend flight schools, a security concern since the 9/11 attacks.

Karena Chuang, 28 years old, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., was arrested for allegedly overseeing a scheme that helped citizens of Egypt, Sri Lanka and Taiwan enter the U.S. for flight training at programs authorized to accept foreign students. She then steered the students to her own pilot training facility, Blue Diamond Aviation, which isn't allowed to accept foreign students, according to Justice Department officials.

In some cases, Ms. Chuang allegedly posed as a cousin of the foreign students when seeking documentation from government-approved flight schools. That documentation was later used to apply for visas, authorities allege.

Ms. Chuang didn't respond to phone calls seeking comment. If convicted, Ms. Chuang faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison, authorities said.

Assistant U.S. attorney Rozella Oliver said Ms. Chuang's students had no suspected ties to terrorism. The alleged visa scheme was most likely financially motivated, she said.

Sensitivities around the visa application process for foreign aviation students have risen after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many of the hijackers of the four doomed airliners had trained at flight schools in the U.S.

Following the attacks, the U.S. instituted tighter guidelines for training foreigners to be pilots, including the Alien Flight Student Program. Under that program, potential foreign students are evaluated for security risks.

"No one needs to be reminded why visa fraud involving flight schools poses a potential national security threat," Claude Arnold, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent, said in a statement. "There's a good reason flight schools that accept foreign students must comply with extremely rigorous requirements."

Ms. Chuang allegedly recruited students by offering lower tuition than schools authorized to accept foreign students. She also promised students they could complete their training in a shorter period of time, according to authorities.

Federal officials said they began investigating Ms. Chuang in June 2010 after U.S. visa officers in Cairo reported that two Egyptians admitted they had received visas to study at a Northern California flight school but instead were planning to attend Blue Diamond, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

According to an affidavit in support of the case, Ms. Chuang's boyfriend, an Egyptian national, helped recruit potential students in Cairo.

Ms. Chuang closed Blue Diamond in July 2011 and opened a new school, called Wright Aviation Academy, the affidavit said.

Wright Aviation's website, which is in both English and Chinese, pitches the school as being designed for international students. It offers bilingual training in English and Chinese.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... _US_News_5

Related:

APNewsBreak: Woman accused of flight school fraud

By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press
Published November 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES – Immigration officials have arrested a woman accused of bringing foreign students to train at her Southern California flight school on fraudulent visas and without government authorization.

Read more here: http://www.alipac.us/ftopic-256513-0-da ... rasc-.html

one look at their website and anyone would know this place is a joke:

http://www.bluediamondaviation.net/index.php