According to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) press release, the owner of an Indiana-based construction company in at least seven states agreed to forfeit over $1.5 million after he pled guilty to conspiring to harbor undocumented immigrants. Robert Adrian Porcisanu, a 28 year old citizen of Romania , and his business, Stucco Design Inc., agreed to forfeit $1,581,000. The amount represents the proceeds of Porcisanu’s illegal business activity. Additionally, Porcisanu was sentenced to 18 months in prison. After finishing his sentence, ICE will place him in deportation proceedings.

According to court documents, Porcisanu and Stucco Design Inc. were able to undercut competitors’ bids and win contracts to perform stucco-related construction work with general contractors by taking advantage of cheaper labor costs by employing undocumented immigrants.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this week arrested 33 individuals in eight states and the District of Columbia in connection with an ongoing investigation into a specific visa fraud scheme that was designed to help large numbers of illegal aliens, primarily from Pakistan , fraudulently obtain religious worker visas to enter or remain in the United States .

Under the Religious Worker Program, aliens with religious training and experience can obtain work visas and, ultimately, green cards if religious organizations in the United States , such as churches, synagogues, or mosques, sponsor them. To qualify for the religious worker visas, aliens must, among other things, be in the United States solely for religious employment; must have received a job offer as a religious worker; and must not be working in any secular employment.