U.S. Indicts Three Over Scheme to Exploit Iraq Refugee Program
- Program is for Iraqis who aided U.S. during and after Iraq war
- Charges cite breach of data; U.S. temporarily suspends program
The Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., U.S., in December 2020.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. Justice Department charged three people in a scheme to steal confidential data for about 1,500 Iraqis seeking refuge in the U.S. and help coach them through the interview process, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.
From 2016 to 2019, two of the defendants, citizens of Jordan and Russia who are former employees at the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, accessed applicants’ information and sent it to an Iraqi citizen, the indictment said. The data contained questions interviewers might ask the applicants as well as assessments of their cases and other information.