Uzbekistan Warns of Labor Migration Fraud involving United States

The press service of the State Security Service (SGB) of Uzbekistan has reported cases of fraud centered around false promises of helping Uzbek workers obtain documents to work in the United States. The first case took place in the capital, Tashkent, where three fraudsters were caught red-handed defrauding six people out of a total of $32,000 by promising to help them obtain visa documents and send them to work in the U.S. via Europe. The next instance took place in Bukhara, where a thrice-convicted local resident offered to help a friend obtain a visa and employment in the U.S., requesting a payment of $40,000. He was detained in the act of receiving the first payment of $30,000. The next three incidents took place in Samarkand. In the first case, two men offered a resident the same services, but via a roundabout route: Uzbekistan - Turkey - Portugal - Guatemala - Mexico - USA. They also asked for a smaller payment of $23,000. When they received the $10,000 advance payment, they were detained. In the second case, the two promised to provide the same services and send the man on the same route. They also demanded $23,000 and were apprehended when receiving an advance payment. A third case followed a similar pattern. in all cases, criminal proceedings were initiated under articles pertaining to fraud in the criminal code.