Ravindra Telluri, Conspiracy to Hire Undocumented Workers, Ohio 2012

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Ohio Man Sentenced for Hiring Undocumented Workers

A Brecksville man was sentenced to nine months of home detention with electronic monitoring, ordered to perform 40 hours of community service and forfeit $1 million for his role in a conspiracy to hire undocumented workers. Ravindra Telluri, 42, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Telluri, a lawful permanent resident of the United States and citizen of India, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hire undocumented workers on October 17, 2012. He paid $1 million to the United States to satisfy the forfeiture based upon the proceeds he received as a result of his criminal activity.

The conspiracy involved Telluri’s two information technology firms, Hytech Consulting, Inc., and InterOne Corp., which hired and placed computer programmer analysts at client firms. Between January 1, 2008 and October 14, 2010, Telluri engaged in a conspiracy with two unindicted coconspirators in India to recruit and hire citizens of India to come to the United States as temporary specialty occupation workers.

Telluri was aware at the time of hiring undocumented workers that false documentation had been submitted as part of the process of submitting petitions for issuance of H-1b visas. As a result, he hired workers who were not lawfully authorized to be employed.

“We will continue to prosecute those employers who would hire undocumented workers,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “While the H-1b temporary worker visa program can be a valuable tool in a company’s hiring practices, abuse of the system will not be tolerated.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations Detroit, which covers Michigan and Ohio. “Our goal is to protect opportunities for the nation’s legal workers and level the playing field for those businesses that play by the rules,” said William Hayes, Acting Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations Detroit. “Employers who willfully violate our nation’s hiring laws gain an unfair economic advantage over their law-abiding competitors. They will be held accountable for their actions as evident in the significant financial penalties as a result of today’s sentencing.”

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