A University of Denver graduate is in federal custody, accused of helping
A University of Denver graduate is in federal custody, accused of helping hundreds of Vietnamese citizens enter the United States illegally.
Federal prosecutors say the scheme yielded millions of dollars in bribes.
They arrested one of the key players in Denver, but say the criminal activity was happening 8,400 miles away in Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam.
Prosecutors say more than 500 people paid thousands of dollars to sneak into the U.S. using fraudulent visas and many of those people may now be hiding out in our country.
Federal prosecutors say there were two sides to Hong Vo.
The 27-year-old has a marketing degree from DU and no criminal record.
There is a lot of concern in that community that this case could have a negative impact on honest people trying to come to the U.S. the legal way.
Vo is now in federal custody without bond.
Hong Vo is an American citizen from Denver accused of conspiring with her Vietnamese relative Tranh Huynh.
Prosecutors say the cousins teamed up with a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Ho Chi Mihn City, Michael Sestak.
Customers paid between $20,000 and $70,000 for Sestak to approve each fraudulent visa.
The affidavit says those Vietnamese citizens were told they could easily “overstay their visas and disappear into the United States.”