Five California residents arrested for helping Chinese nationals take English proficiency exams to get US student visas
- Authorities say fraudsters used counterfeit passports to impersonate 19 different students
- Organiser Liu Cai reportedly paid impostors US$400 for each Test of English as a Foreign Language exam taken
Several California residents were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a scheme to help Chinese nationals obtain student visas by hiring people to take English proficiency exams for the foreign students.
Federal authorities allege that those involved in the plot used counterfeit Chinese passports to impersonate 19 different students who were required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam in order to get a US student visa.
The Washington Times reported that alleged organiser Liu Cai paid the impostors US$400 per test, according to prosecutors.
The exams took place over a one-year period in 2015 and 2016 at various testing locations in and around Los Angeles.
Six people have been named in a 26-count indictment handed down in the case on Friday. They include the five arrested on Tuesday, including the ringleader, and a sixth, who currently lives in Taiwan, authorities said.