PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Nimon Naphaeng, 35, a Thai national living in Wakefield, R.I., admitted in federal court to orchestrating a brazen immigration fraud scheme that exploited his own countrymen for profit. Naphaeng pleaded guilty yesterday to seven counts of mail fraud and two counts of visa fraud, copping to submitting false asylum applications without the knowledge or consent of the applicants — all for fees between $1,500 and $2,500 per victim.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Naphaeng confessed that from August 2014 through December 2015, he lured Thai nationals with promises of Employment Authorization Documents — EAD cards — by advertising online and in flyers posted in Thai restaurants across the U.S. He claimed he could help with taxes and immigration paperwork, but never disclosed he would file fraudulent asylum claims, a move that automatically grants applicants temporary legal status, work permits, and access to Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, and other government benefits.
Victims handed over their names, dates of birth, passport biographical pages, and photographs — all the data Naphaeng needed to file the sham applications. He submitted them to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under false pretenses, fabricating stories of persecution to justify asylum claims that the applicants never made and never wanted. The scheme ran unchecked until federal investigators connected the dots through digital trails and document anomalies.
As part of the plea, Naphaeng agreed to forfeit $285,789.31 seized by law enforcement during the investigation. That money, authorities say, will go toward restitution for victims who may have unknowingly committed immigration fraud themselves — now facing potential legal fallout from applications they never authorized.
Arrested on December 22, 2015, Naphaeng has been held in federal custody since. He’s scheduled for sentencing on May 1, 2017, before Chief Judge Smith. Each count of mail fraud carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; visa fraud charges add up to 10 years per count, with the same fine and up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with crucial support from USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Asylum Office in Newark, N.J., and the Warwick, R.I., Police Department. Prosecutors Richard W. Rose and Mary E. Rogers are handling the case. For media inquiries, contact Jim Martin at (401) 709-5357 or USARI.Media@usdoj.gov.
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Key Facts
- State: Rhode Island
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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