The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday announced that New York resident Stella Boyadjian was sentenced to two years and one month for her role in a multi-year visa fraud, identity theft, and immigrant smuggling conspiracy that brought citizens of Armenia into the United States for profit.

The DOJ writes the Armenians brought to the U.S. fraudulently posed as members of performance groups, and thus qualified for P-3 “Culturally Unique Artist” visas. (The P-3 nonimmigrant visa classification allows foreign nationals to temporarily travel to the United States to perform, teach, or coach as artists or entertainers, under a program that is culturally unique.)

Boyadjian ran a non-profit that charged citizens of Armenia between $3,000 and $15,000 for the P-3 visas.

The DOJ says Boyadjian, and her associates in Armenia, acquired fraudulent performer certificates and organized staged photo sessions of people wearing Armenian folk outfits to appear to be traditional Armenian performers.

They also trained those paying in Armenia on how to answer questions from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services visa adjudicators. 

In February 2018, Boyadjian, Hrachya Atoyan of Glendale, California, and Diana Grigoryan, 42, of the Republic of Armenia were charged in a 15-count indictment with visa fraud and with conspiracy to: defraud the United States, commit visa fraud, and illegally bring aliens into the United States.  Boyadjian and Grigoryan were also charged with related money laundering charges, and Boyadjian was charged with aggravated identity theft.