A federal Immigration Services officer and his associate were arrested this month and accused of taking bribes to confer immigration status on migrant applicants.
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced in a Friday press release that Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, an ex- senior Immigration Services Officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was arrested along with his associate, Adeniyi Akeem Somoye. Both were charged with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official.
“Selling immigration benefits for cash is a blatant abuse of public trust,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in the release. “When a federal official puts a price tag on lawful status, we will intervene immediately. Public corruption will never be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas.”
“The alleged manipulation of immigration decisions for personal gain undermines the integrity of a process essential to our national security,” added FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses their position of trust.”
The arrest filing also alleges that Ganiyu and Somoye made hundreds of thousands of dollars from the illegal applications.
Federal prosecutors allege that Ganiyu used his position and expertise to expedite applications in exchange for money. In the scheme, Ganiyu reportedly bypassed mandated interviews, supervisory review, jurisdictional limitations, background checks and standard USCIS processing protocol to illegally advance applications for ineligible migrant applicants.
Investigators reportedly uncovered thousands of messages and hundreds of calls between the arrested officials and migrants who found their applications quickly approved. Investigators reportedly uncovered the scheme among WhatsApp messages between Ganiyu, his accomplice Somoye, and a group of citizenship applicants.
Ganiyu reportedly used his access to federal computers to intercept files from offices in Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Houston to approve the applications for those who paid for the expedited service.
The migrant applicants reportedly gave Ganiyu about $671,438 via Zelle and Cash App — plus $287,830 in cash deposits designed to hide the money’s source — starting in 2019, according to the New York Post.
Investigators found that Ganiyu had about $671,438 via Zelle and Cash App, along with $287,830 in cash deposits. But his annual salary was only $67,732 a year. Meanwhile, Somoye had amassed about $1.7 million and once deposited $449,010 in cash in the bank. All on a salary of $7,506 in legitimate annual income.
Ganiyu was not fired, but instead resigned from the service. And since he left the USCIS he and Somoye reportedly made frequent financial exchanges through banks and cash apps, with some of the transactions being undertaken in African countries. The constant turn overs of transactions were meant to keep the money moving to hide it from investigators.
The two had their first appearance before a judge on Sept. 2.
They each face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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