September 1st, 2006
The U.S. Embassy says its officials are working with Ghana Police CID document fraud unit to fight widespread fraud by applicants for the U.S. visa lottery (called the Diversity Visa or DV) and to protect honest applicants from extortion.
Of particular concern this year is the growing number of fraudulent marriages arranged for immigration purposes only. Officials detected fraud in a high percentage of applications where spouses were added after the date of the original DV entry. The Embassy says it feels obliged to investigate every case. Given the very large number of short-term marriages awaiting investigation, and that the DV year ends at the end of September, not all investigations may be completed before the end of the program year.
In early June, in two separate cases, Accra-based men were arrested by the CID. The men had charged thousands of dollars from DV applicants to create false civil documents (birth and marriage certificates) for their cases. Both were also involved in arranging marriages of convenience so that unqualified applicants could travel to the U.S. by posing as the spouses of qualified applicants. The arrested criminals had specifically targeted students by recruiting at universities.
In July, CID raided the premises of African Origins Travel Consulting in Kumasi and found evidence of various illegal visa-related services including provision of fake business documents, birth and marriage certificates, school and exam results, passports, bank documents, and invitation letters. Also seized were paper and stamps commonly used in the creation of fake diplomas and certificates of training. Some fake documents found had already been presented by DV applicants this year.
The evidence (including specific price lists and receipts for payment) showed that owner Sampson Deen and his staff were charging applicants several million cedis for consultation fees and up to $7,000 for full DV processing. (Note: the lottery is free to enter, and the application fee of $755 for winning entrants is to be paid only to the Embassy). In addition to his consultation racket, Deen had entered large numbers of students in the DV lottery with the intent of extorting large sums of money from the winners. He also tried to induce or force winning entrants to take sham spouses from whom he also took money.
Since these arrests, dozens of other DV applicants have admitted to entering the lottery through fixers who set up tables in front of their university dormitories, in the village square, or at their trade school. Many have admitted that they made a large payment to a fixer or that a large payment is expected if they get the visa.
As long as unscrupulous fixers prey upon the ignorance of their compatriots to charge exorbitant fees for both legal and illegal services, honest applicants will suffer. The CID should be praised for their excellent work this year, but there is no doubt that many criminals remain working in Ghana.
