David Nikolashvili, 52, a citizen of the Republic of Georgia and former Stamford, Connecticut resident now living in Queens, New York, has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for masterminding a sprawling immigration fraud scheme that exploited the U.S. immigration system for years. The hard-charging bust culminated today in U.S. District Court in Hartford, where Judge Robert N. Chatigny handed down the sentence, signaling zero tolerance for those gaming national security protocols for profit.
Nikolashvili was ordered to serve six months behind bars, followed by two years of supervised release, and slapped with a $12,000 fine. The charges stem from a fraudulent operation that targeted at least 60 citizens of European countries desperate for U.S. immigration status. For fees ranging from $12,000 to $20,000 per person, Nikolashvili arranged sham marriages between the foreign nationals and U.S. citizens who were paid to play along—turning marriage, a cornerstone of legal immigration, into a transactional farce.
The scheme unraveled when Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security Unit moved in on the network. Court documents reveal that Nikolashvili didn’t just dabble—he orchestrated a full pipeline: collecting money, coordinating fake couples, and submitting falsified documents to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to fast-track green cards. The marriages were staged, the affidavits perjured, and the system undermined—all for cold cash.
Arrested on June 21, 2016, Nikolashvili initially fought the charges before ultimately pleading guilty on July 26, 2017, to one count of making false swearing in an immigration matter—a felony that carries steep consequences. Though released on a $75,000 bond pending sentencing, his freedom ends April 27, 2018, when he must report to prison to begin serving his term. His legal troubles won’t end there: immigration proceedings loom after his release, and deportation is a near certainty.
Every fraudulent application tied to Nikolashvili’s scheme has been flagged and reviewed by USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security. Adjudicative actions have been taken, officials confirm, nullifying any improper immigration benefits. The crackdown underscores the federal government’s sharpened focus on immigration fraud rings that exploit legal pathways and compromise national security under the guise of family reunification.
The case was investigated by a joint task force including Homeland Security Investigations, USCIS’s Office of Fraud Detection and National Security Unit, and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito prosecuted. U.S. Attorney John H. Durham emphasized that such fraud won’t be tolerated: ‘Those who profit from falsifying the immigration process will be hunted down, prosecuted, and punished.’
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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