Virginia Attorney Sunila Dutt Admits Visa Fraud, Obstruction

Virginia immigration attorney Sunila Dutt, 39, of Ashburn, admitted in federal court today to orchestrating a visa fraud scheme that flooded the U.S. tech sector with foreign workers under false pretenses. Dutt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud and obstruct justice, copping to submitting forged documents and coaching witnesses to deceive federal authorities.

The scam centered on two IT staffing firms, SCM Data Inc. and MMC Systems Inc., which claimed to place skilled tech workers with American clients. But instead of legitimate placements, Dutt and co-conspirators funneled foreign nationals—often former students—into H-1B visas by lying about full-time employment and salaries. The reality: workers were paid only when contracted, often forced to hand back wages in cash while receiving smaller, falsified payroll checks.

Dutt admitted she filed paperwork with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) claiming the companies had in-house IT roles that never existed. One filing, submitted Oct. 16, 2014, sought to extend the H-1B status of ‘Individual 1’—a worker no longer on assignment. When scrutiny mounted, Dutt doubled down: on Jan. 30, 2015, she told the worker to lie about living in a Virginia guesthouse. Days later, she emailed fabricated proof of residency to be used in the fraud.

The fraud didn’t stop at USCIS. When the U.S. Department of Labor launched an audit, the scheme shifted gears. The conspirators produced fake vacation and leave slips to cover gaps in employment—periods when workers weren’t placed and weren’t paid, a direct violation of federal labor rules. These documents were handed over to investigators as if they were real, deepening the web of deception.

Dutt’s actions weren’t just bureaucratic trickery—they undermined the integrity of the entire H-1B visa program, designed to bring in skilled labor, not create a shell game for profit. By falsifying employment records and coaching lies, she helped maintain a pipeline of workers under false conditions while evading oversight from both USCIS and the Department of Labor.

Now facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Dutt’s sentencing is set for Feb. 6, 2017, in Newark federal court before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty. The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey, signals a broader crackdown on visa fraud in the IT contracting world, where paper jobs and phantom payrolls have become a growing federal target.