Rashid Minhas, Mail Fraud, Illinois 2014

A Chicago travel agent was arrested today on a federal fraud charge for allegedly cheating at least 50 customers of approximately $525,000 by misrepresenting his ability to sell travel packages for the Hajj that included the visa required to enter Saudi Arabia.

The defendant, Rashid Minhas, 42, of Chicago, was charged with mail fraud in a criminal complaint that was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court and unsealed this morning following his arrest.

Minhas was arrested without incident by FBI agents at his residence on the north side of Chicago. Agents also executed a federal search warrant at his business, Light Star Hajj Group, located at 5801 Northwest Hwy., Chicago. Minhas previously operated a travel agency in Chicago called City Travel & Tours.

According to the complaint affidavit, between March and November 2014, Minhas falsely represented that Hajj travel packages for September and October of this year included required Saudi Arabia entry visas. Minhas allegedly knew that Light Star Hajj was not authorized by Saudi Arabia to obtain visas and that he did not intend to obtain the required Hajj visas. He sold travel deals to at least 50 customers and deposited approximately $525,000 he collected into Light Star’s bank accounts, and then commingled those funds with other deposits and used the money to make partial refunds to customers, to transfer funds to Pakistan, and to pay personal expenses, the complaint alleges.

The affidavit describes the Hajj as an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims, and must be carried out at least once in a lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey. This year, the Hajj pilgrimage was from Oct. 2-7, and each year, approximately two million pilgrims attend the Hajj.

Mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

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