VZCZCXRO7545
RR RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHGR RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHQU
RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC
DE RUEHBU #1234/01 3171511
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131510Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0019
INFO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUEPICA/USCIS WASHINGTON DC
RUEPICB/USCIS FDNS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 001234 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP 
WHA/AND 
DS/ICI/CR 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC 
POSTS FOR FPMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS PE AR
SUBJECT: PERUVIAN H2B FRAUD IN BUENOS AIRES 
 
REF: 08 BUENOS AIRES 1631 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Post identified a fraudulent H2B petition used by 
Peruvians claiming to be horse groomers seeking to work at well-known 
race tracks in New York for prominent horse trainers.  Five separate 
cases dating back to May 2008 bear the same fraud indicators - fake 
justification letters addressed to USCIS, fake I-797 DHS Notice of 
Actions, and fake Argentine national identification documents.  FPU 
has linked at least thirteen additional applications to these 
falsified petitions worldwide, but the actual number could be more, 
given the forgery techniques employed. The Petition Information 
Management System (PIMS) is consistently the first indicator of fraud 
in these cases. END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------- 
First Hint of Fraud 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  In April 2009, when a 32-year old Peruvian woman, who 
claimed she had worked in Buenos Aires for the past three years as a 
horse groom, presented a clearly fabricated Argentine identity 
document, the adjudicating officer referred the case to FPU.  Not 
only was the Argentine document manufactured with a fake identity 
number, but the accompanying H2B petition was not in PIMS and bore 
signs of manipulation by a laser printer.   A check with Argentine 
Immigration officials indicated that the applicant had only recently 
entered the country. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Same Employers, Same Lawyer, Same Forgery 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Two prior Peruvian H2B applicants from November 2008 bore 
the same forged presentation letters addressed to USCIS on behalf of 
horse trainer Victor Cuadra.  The copy of the I-797 DHS Notice of 
Action and all supporting documents, including letters of 
recommendation and salary receipts, were fraudulent.  While the 
original I-797 included bona fide beneficiaries, the doctored I-797 
presented to post, included the new "beneficiaries" and some of the 
original beneficiaries, but with altered dates of birth.  The CCD 
showed some previously adjudicated cases for this petition with 
scanned documents containing identical signatures and handwriting to 
this fraudulent case.  Text searches for the petitioner, R. Violette 
Junior Stable Incorporated, showed at least thirteen H2b applications 
dating back to 2005 in Peru, Paraguay, Mexico and Chile. 
 
¶4.  (U) The fraudulent beneficiaries presented similar stories during 
their interviews.  Each applicant alleged that s/he paid nothing for 
the fraudulent documents and was offered the jobs, including room and 
board, in the U.S., for a very low weekly salary (no more than 350 
USD). 
 
¶5. (SBU) FPU contacted the lawyer listed on the petitions, who stated 
that while he represented Richard Violette and Victor Cuadra, he had 
not filed a petition on their behalf in several years, and was 
appalled to find that someone was using his name and the name of his 
clients in this manner.  Since his law office represents the majority 
of horse trainers in New York and routinely files petitions for 
members of the New York Thoroughbred Horse Association, he was eager 
to cooperate with FPU to preserve the integrity of his practice.  He 
noted that most of his clients' seasonal workers came from Mexico and 
Chile and recalled that the FPM in Peru had contacted him in 2008 to 
verify a similar petition forgery. 
 
-------------------------------- 
PIMS Makes Fraud Detection Easy 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Post forwarded the fraudulent petitions to KCC, alerted 
other posts who had named beneficiaries on the forged document, and 
entered lookouts and hits for the listed beneficiaries, including a 
few who were erroneously issued without checking PIMS.  Post believes 
that the forger is actively trying to evade detection by altering the 
petition number, petitioner name and beneficiaries biographic data on 
a once-valid petition. 
 
 
¶7. (U) COMMENT: This is not the first time Buenos Aires has detected 
petition-based visa fraud perpetrated by Peruvians.  Reftel outlines 
the case of a sheepherder who attempted to obtain an H2A using a 
fraudulent petition. PIMS has made petition fraud detection much 
 
BUENOS AIR 00001234  002 OF 002 
 
 
easier.  Clear document forgery and text searches are effective ways 
to further an investigation, but almost all cases associated with 
this petition were refused following an error listing in PIMS.  END 
COMMENT. 
MARTINEZ