Mexican Alien Sentenced for Fraud Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Mexican alien in the Kansas City area was sentenced in federal court for his role in helping illegal aliens fraudulently obtain visas allowing them to reside and work in the United States. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri made the announcement. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided valuable assistance to the investigation.

Jose Luis Morales Salgado, 37, was sentenced July 22 by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 21 months in jail with no possibility of parole. The court also ordered Salgado to pay $61,200, which constitutes the illicit proceeds he obtained from his involvement in the visa fraud conspiracy.

Salgado pleaded guilty March 23 to conspiring to fraudulently obtain immigration visas for aliens. Salgado admitted that immigrants contacted him to arrange to become "victims" of staged robberies so they could then submit applications for U visas, which are granted to crime victims. The aliens, who were either illegally present in the United States or in the United States legally through work visas, paid Salgado thousands of dollars to participate. In exchange, Salgado directed them to the location of a planned staged robbery on a particular day and time.

Salgado also admitted that he recruited individuals to pose as robbers during the staged crimes and provided directions to those individuals. He admitted that each robbery involved aliens who told police they had car trouble and pulled over. Soon after stopping, another vehicle would arrive. The robber, wearing a mask and brandishing a firearm, would strike the purported victims in the head or face, take their cash, and typically fire two rounds into the purported victim's vehicle. Salgado instructed the alien "victims" to falsely report to law enforcement officials how the robberies occurred and advised them how to make these false reports to bolster their applications for U visas.

According to court documents, a source told investigators the number of purported victims involved in the scheme was well over 100. Court documents also indicate that investigators identified 11 robberies involving 33 purported victims that occurred as part of the conspiracy between Dec. 29, 2021, and July 13, 2024. Of those 33 immigrants, 18 applied for U visas falsely claiming to be victims of violent crimes.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was designed to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute certain crimes while also protecting victims of crimes who are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. A foreign national is eligible for a U visa if he or she was the victim of qualifying criminal activity, suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of the criminal activity, possesses information about the criminal activity, and is likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Kansas City Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from USCIS.

To report suspected immigration benefit fraud or abuse to USCIS, please use the USCIS Tip Form.

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