Farmington case: Telugu techie gets 6-month jail

HYDERABAD: US-based Telugu software professional Phanideep Karnati was given six-month jail term for recruiting students to fake Farmington University, set up by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), by a US court in Detroit on Wednesday. After the verdict, ICE sleuths immediately took him into custody.
Phanideep, who had studied engineering in Hyderabad before moving to the US 11 yeas ago to take up a job there, maintained that he was not aware that it was a fake university and went by the university’s website that it was genuine.He also said he believed that the university would conduct online classes.
Phanideep was arrested along with eight others last year for recruiting students to the fake university. The university was set up by the ICE to check visa frauds. While seven others were handed out sentences in January 2019, Phanideep was sentenced on Wednesday. Last year, after his arrest, he had obtained bail.
Journalist Niraj Warikoo, in his report in ‘Detroit Free Press’, mentioned what district court Judge Gershwin Drain told Phanideep. The judge said: “I'm convinced you were guilty. It's serious, but it's not all that serious. You have a very clean record, you got a family. I view you as a little less culpable.” The other seven, who were convicted last year of the crime, were given sentences up to two years.
Phanideep would have to serve the six-month jail term after which he will be deported to India by the authorities. As many as 39 students were reportedly recruited by the eight Indians to the fake university. According to reports, over 600 students had enrolled in the fake university from India and other countries. The ICE set up the university as an undercover operation to bust a fake visa fraud.
In a statement, head of ICE's investigative division, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), for Michigan and Ohio, Vance Callender, said the sentencing of the final criminal defendant in HSI’s University of Farmington investigation made it unequivocally clear that every individual who participated in this scheme knew it was an illegal pay-to-stay scam.
According to journalist Niraj Warikoo, Phanideep pleaded for mercy. “I trusted the University of Farmington was genuine. I relied on the website and the listing by government agencies that it was legitimate. I apologize to the US government. I should have done more research to find out if the university was legitimate. I ruined my beautiful life and career. ... I beg your mercy,” he said pleading with the judge.