Apparently bilking people out of nearly $4 million in an identity theft scheme is one of those jobs that 'Americans just won't do.'
News Radio 1200 WOAI reports that two illegal immigrants from Nigeria who were living in Austin will be able to stay in the United States for another seven years at taxpayer expense, inside a federal prison.
Federal officials say the two men were convicted of masterminding a sophisticated identity theft scam which stole the personal information of thousands of people.Prosecutors say the two men obtained the personal information of U.S. victims by operating cleaning services in the Austin area, cleaning offices, and then looting those offices for Personal Identification Information.
Among the locations the conspiracy victimized were medical facilities, where patient files were stolen, and the ARC Pooled Trust of Greater Austin, which helps to provide financial security services to the disabled.
The men then used the personal information to open credit cards in the names of the victims, and to steal their income tax refunds.
The men also lied to immigration officials, claiming to be from The Sudan, in hopes of obtaining asylum in the United States. The Sudan is one of the most violent places in the world, and asylum applications from nationals of that country are frequently approved.But both of the men are from Nigeria, where nationals are not eligible for asylum.
Later, it was determined that the men gave false names to immigration officials.
Two other men, both Nigerian citizens, are being sought in connection with the scam.