VZCZCXRO8543
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0640/01 3081158
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041157Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0023
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0021
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 0014
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 0015
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000640 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
INL 
DS/CR 
DS/CR/OCI 
DS/IP/WHA 
KENTUCKY CONSULAR CENTER 
DS/HSTC 
CA/FPP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC CVIS KCRM KTIP KFRD PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: FOR RELEASE: ARREST OF THREE OUT-OF-STATE U.S. VISA FRAUD 
FACILITATORS EXEMPLIFIES A FORWARD STEP IN BRAZILIAN INTER-STATE / 
INTER-AGENCY COOPERATION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Three of the most notorious visa fraud 
facilitators, based out of the neighboring state of Minas Gerais, 
provided the first real challenge for the Assistant Regional 
Security Officer Investigator (ARSO/I) Sao Paulo program.  Amidst a 
steady flow of the facilitators' clients targeting the U.S. 
Consulate in Sao Paulo, refusal of Federal Police support, and a 
historical divide amongst State (Civil) Police, a new strategy 
developed and executed by the ARSO/I team led to an inter-state, 
multi-agency police operation and the arrest of the three 
facilitators, the uncovering of a sophisticated visa fraud scheme, 
and set a precedent for future, effective Consulate - State Police 
cooperation. 
 
END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
Background 
 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) For at least ten years, three individuals known only as, 
"Nilson," "Eliane," and "Sheila," (known hereafter as THE 
FACILITATORS)were repeatedly identified by confronted mala fide 
Non-Immigrant visa (NIV) applicants across Mission Brazil 
NIV-issuing posts as the individuals responsible and earning money 
for facilitating visa fraud. Unique in their ability to limit 
attainable information about themselves or their businesses from 
their clients' application forms or during Brazilian Police 
interrogation, THE FACILITATORS' potency was measured as much in 
their longevity as in their ability to mask their identity from 
applicants and from interested officials both in and out of 
Mission Fraud Prevention Units (FPU). Compounding the difficulty in 
investigating and prosecuting THE FACILITATORS was the fact that 
THE FACILITATORS operated out of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 
state.  Long recognized as a high fraud area, Minas Gerais is 
located in the central east of Brazil and neighbors three of four 
U.S. NIV-issuing posts.  Hundreds of kilometers from the nearest 
U.S. post, Belo Horizonte, where the visa fraud would take place, 
lay beyond the effective reach of the FPUs.  Historically estranged 
relationships between State Police Precincts made going after THE 
FACILITATORS extremely difficult; successful advocacy of a U.S. 
criminal case to a State Precinct in one State would likely not 
mean successful acceptance for action by a State Police Precinct in 
the State where the crime originated. 
 
 
 
 
 
Enter the ARSO/I, Exit the DPF 
 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) The creation of an Assistant Regional Security Officer 
Investigator (ARSO/I) position at U.S. Consulate Sao Paulo in 
September 2007 allowed for fulltime U.S. law enforcement 
investigation into THE FACILITATORS.  In the following year, five 
FACILITATOR-linked NIV fraud arrests were made at the U.S. 
Consulate Sao Paulo, along with routine FPU encounters of the 
FACILITATORS' names during interviews with mala fide NIV 
applicants.  The first ARSO/I effort to prosecute THE FACILITATORS 
was made at the Federal Police (DPF) office in Belo Horizonte in 
August 2008. ARSO/I and FSN/I explained the fraud and gave the DPF 
all evidence collected against THE FACILITATORS; however the DPF 
declined to take the case. With the DPF door shut, and no end in 
sight to the flow of FACILITATOR-dispatched applicants, a new 
strategy was needed, and ARSO/I, FSN/I and Vetted Unit Chief went 
back to the drawing board to design a new plan. 
 
 
 
Forging a Bridge to Belo: Anchor Point Sao Paulo 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4. (SBU) With the Brazilian State Police remaining as the only 
 
SAO PAULO 00000640  002 OF 003 
 
 
option for investigation and prosecution of THE FACILITATORS, 
ARSO/I required a mechanism by which to overcome historical 
distrust among inter-state police authorities, while simultaneously 
convincing two separate precincts to take on a crime that 
originated in one state, and took place in another.  The new 
strategy to accomplish this began by ensuring all FACILITATOR 
clients were identified and arrested across Mission Brazil, and 
statements against THE FACILITATORS collected.  With lookouts sent 
to the other Posts, from September 2008 to September 2009, Mission 
Brazil FPUs identified and passed to the respective RSO sections 25 
additional FACILITATOR cases leading to arrests.  For Sao Paulo, 
the key was to forge a consistent, credible relationship with the 
responsible Chief (Delegado) of the Precinct that would handle all 
of the arrests. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Civil Police Sixth Section Precinct is located 
approximately 25 minutes by car from the U.S. Consulate Sao Paulo, 
and a series of diplomatic efforts, meetings, and successful joint 
cases not related to THE FACILITATORS produced a professional and 
effective partnership with the Precinct's Chief, Dr. Paulo Pereira 
de Paula. Processing all 22 FACILITATOR arrests at the U.S. 
Consulate Sao Paulo, Dr. Paulo and his Officers proved to be an 
effective and reliable ally against THE FACILITATORS. Through this 
sustained, mutually beneficial effort, Dr. Paulo agreed to work 
jointly with ARSO/I in identifying and working with a Belo 
Horizonte-based Prosecutor to go after the FACILITATORS in their 
home town. 
 
 
 
Forging a Bridge to Belo: Anchor Point Belo Horizonte 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) ARSO/I concentrated on working with/establishing contact 
with Belo Horizonte-based State Prosecutors in order to circumvent 
traditional inter-state police distrust.  At the time, the Chief of 
the Minas Gerais State Prosecutor's Office, Dr. Jarbas Soares 
Junior, intended to travel to the United States with his family for 
vacation, and he reached out to FSN/I Sao Paulo for assistance with 
the visa process. Seizing on the opportunity, ARSO/I submitted the 
appropriate visa referral and used the visa processing time to 
present a PowerPoint presentation regarding THE FACILITATORS to Dr. 
Jarbas.  The approach worked, and Dr. Jarbas assigned Belo 
Horizonte State Prosecutor Dr. Andre Estevao Ubaldino Pereira to 
prosecute the case against THE FACILITATORS, based on arrests and 
evidence collected from U.S. Consulate Sao Paulo. Dr. Andre 
travelled to Sao Paulo in July 2009, and ARSO/I facilitated a 
meeting between Dr. Andre and Sao Paulo State Police Chief Dr. 
Paulo. The meeting was wholly successful, and both parties agreed 
to work together with ARSO/I in going after THE FACILITATORS. 
 
 
 
Operation Triple Tap 
 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Now known by the Diplomatic Security Service as case 
VF-2009-00698, the investigation into THE FACILITATORS picked up 
full steam with the concerted effort of the Belo Horizonte 
Prosecutor's Office and Sao Paulo State Police.  Backed by 
continued arrests in Sao Paulo linked to THE FACILITATORS, Dr. 
Andre issued seven search warrants for the homes and business owned 
by Nilson Santos Dias Junior, Eliane Pires Viau, and Sheila 
Cristina De Morais with an execution due date of October 18, 2009. 
Dr. Andre agreed to allow ARSO/I and FSN/I Sao Paulo to observe the 
execution of the search warrants (dubbed Operation Papirus in 
Brazil and Operation Triple Tap in the United States).  Regional 
Security Office (RSO) Sao Paulo Vetted Unit Chief, a Sao 
Paulo-based Civil Police investigator, was allowed to participate 
in the actual search warrants, along with Belo Horizonte Military 
Police Officers, making Operation Triple Tap a truly joint venture. 
 
SAO PAULO 00000640  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Commencing just before dawn on October 14, 2009, Operation 
Triple Tap included some 42 State and Military Police Officers 
representing both Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo.  All three targets 
were found in their homes, which were subsequently searched.  After 
conclusion of the residential search warrants, THE FACILITATORS 
were taken individually to their offices for further search.  Upon 
conclusion of the office search warrants, all three FACILITATORS 
were placed under arrest by the Civil Police based on evidence 
found in their homes and offices on the following charges: Article 
288 Conspiracy; Article 171 Fraud; Article 297 Falsifying Public 
Documents; and Article 298 Falsifying Private Documents.  The 
charges come with a possible sentence of five to fifteen years if 
convicted. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The execution of Operation Triple Tap yielded some 
disturbing information about the visa facilitation business in 
Brazil.  Grossly evident in the offices of THE FACILITATORS was the 
sheer volume of demand for their services.  While the culture of 
legal facilitation around bureaucratic processes in Brazil is 
prevalent (such facilitators are called "Despachantes"), the move 
to illegal facilitation is as short as it is easy and profitable. 
In terms of visa fraud, understanding of the mechanics of the 
fraud, as well as the relevance to local authorities is a constant 
struggle for Mission Brazil.  Indeed, media reports of Operation 
Papirus just hours after the arrests questioned repeatedly the 
actual existence of a crime.  Further, the decision to arrest THE 
FACILITATORS was solely based on the existence of notary stamps 
controlled by judicial authority.  These stamps are used to certify 
official Brazilian documents often used by NIV applicants as 
supporting documentation.  However, far overshadowing the notary 
stamps were the piles of immigration entry and exit stamps from 
many European and South American countries, to include individual 
immigration officer identity stamps.  The preponderance of these 
stamps, along with other collected evidence show THE FACILITATORS 
existed for so long and with such success by concentrating on 
giving their clients a tailored illusion of a being a bona fide NIV 
applicant, as opposed to the more commonplace and simple technique 
of just selling fake document packages containing such items as 
income statements or proof of employment.  Intelligence collected 
by Police from associated arrests told of THE FACILITATORS giving 
hour long classes on NIV interview conduct to their clients; and 
together with the evidence found in the search warrants, it appears 
THE FACILITATORS specialized in exploiting the requirements of 
overcoming the intent of illegally immigrating to the U.S. (known 
as "214b" to adjudicating NIV officers).  This sophisticated fraud 
technique, coupled with ensuring applicants personally filled out 
the DS-156 visa application forms with their individual contact 
information, rendered standard fraud prevention techniques less 
effective.  However, in the end, effective bilateral, interagency, 
cross-state cooperation proved effective. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) The collaborative efforts of Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte 
State Police, operationally aided by the Military Police, mark a 
first for the ARSO/I Sao Paulo program.  Going forward, ARSO/I Sao 
Paulo plans to work closely with Mission Brazil Fraud Prevention 
Managers to develop an effective defense against THE FACILITATORS' 
fraud scheme.  The success of Operation Triple Tap and the means by 
which it came about will serve as a precedent for future endeavors, 
and highlights the potential for a new and exciting program. 
 
 
 
¶11. (U)  This cable was cleared by Consul General and RSO Brasilia. 
White