A Fort Stockton, Texas, teacher has admitted to running a predatory visa fraud scheme that exploited Indian educators seeking jobs in the U.S. George Mariadas Kurusu, a 58-year-old Indian national and H1-B visa holder, pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple felony counts, including two counts of wire fraud, one count of fraud in foreign labor contracting, one count of witness tampering, and one count of making a false statement on a visa application.
Kurusu, a teacher with the Fort Stockton Independent School District (FSISD), used his position to orchestrate a years-long scam from December 2012 to May 2016. Through his shell company, Samaritan Educational Services, he lured at least a dozen Indian nationals with promises of H1-B visas and teaching jobs in West Texas. He collected more than $50,000 from victims under the false pretense that fees were only for paperwork, while personally profiting in violation of his own visa terms.
Court records reveal Kurusu placed ads in a Hyderabad newspaper, positioning himself as a necessary middleman between applicants and both the U.S. State Department and FSISD. He instructed victims to withhold the truth from consular officials—specifically, that they had paid for placement services—while forbidding them from contacting the school district directly. This deliberate obfuscation allowed him to control communication and conceal his scheme from authorities and employers alike.
Once the victims arrived in the U.S. and began working at FSISD, Kurusu forced them to set up Electronic Funds Transfers (ETF) diverting 15% of their pre-tax salaries to his business account. He falsely claimed these payments were for “consulting” and to ensure continued employment and visa status—benefits he had no authority to guarantee. When employees questioned the deductions, he threatened them with job loss, visa cancellation, and deportation.
As federal agents closed in, Kurusu escalated to witness tampering. He warned victims not to speak with law enforcement, claiming cooperation would result in mass firings and deportations of all H1-B visa holders in the district. His intimidation tactics unraveled when investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service exposed the operation.
Kurusu has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2016. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is pending. The Fort Stockton Independent School District was not aware of the scheme during its operation and has since cooperated fully with authorities. The case underscores the vulnerabilities exploited in temporary visa programs and the human cost of immigration fraud.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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