SAN FRANCIASCO, Oct 25: A federal jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, has convicted Mohammad Bajwa, a Pakistani-American, on charges connected to $6 million he helped people transfer to Pakistan and other countries.
Mohammad Bajwa, 39, from Herndon, Virginia, was convicted in the US District Court of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He was also convicted of wire fraud connected to a refinancing application he filed on a property mortgage.
Bajwa, owner of a construction company, New Superstar Corporation, was ordered to give up his home and $4 million.
He could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each charge when he is sentenced on Nov 29.
Prosecutors say Mr Bajwa collected money from people in Virginia and then wired it to overseas banks. His brother in Pakistan then collected the money and distributed it to its recipients.
On Oct 7, Bajwa was convicted of immigration fraud and sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release in connection with his April 14, 2005 conviction by a federal jury of immigration fraud related to the filing of false immigration documents that allowed illegal aliens to enter and/or remain in the United States.
The court also ordered Bajwa’s construction company, New Superstar Corporation, to pay a $20,000 fine.
The jury determined that Bajwa, a businessman and sponsoring employer and Maqsood Mir, age 52, an immigration lawyer practising in Potomac, Maryland; and his law firm, Mir Law Associates, LLC, were guilty of various charges of filing false labour certifications between 1998 and 2003.
