Seattle man charged in decade-long immigration fraud scheme involving friends, family

A 39-year-old Seattle resident was arrested Tuesday on a six-count indictment in which he was charged in a scheme to submit false information to obtain immigration status for his friends and family.

Mustafa Aman submitted false information to government agencies as early as 2013 and continued his conspiracy into 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

“Immigration fraud is a serious problem, and this is just one example. It is disturbing that this defendant repeatedly took advantage of our country’s generosity. This person, who helped the U.S. in Afghanistan, allegedly used fraud at every step of the process to bring others from Afghanistan to this country,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Floyd. “Mr. Aman was granted citizenship because he was considered a trusted ally to the United States. Sadly, he exploited our generosity and used it against us.”

Alleged immigration fraud scheme spanned more than a decade

Aman, using his knowledge of the immigration system and a United States defense contractor, conspired to aid his friends and family in obtaining status through fraud, according to the indictment.

Aman created fake letters of recommendation and assisted others in creating fake employee badges and letters of support. He also made false statements to public officials, including members of the State Department and Congressional staff. On Aman’s own application, he submitted false statements claiming he was single when he was actually married.

“Mr. Aman is charged with using his position and special knowledge of the U.S. immigration process to cheat the system for his own benefit, and that of his family and friends, said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “We hope this indictment serves as a reminder of the consequences for defrauding the United States and the importance of seeking American citizenship in a lawful way.”

The indictment also alleges that in 2014, Aman provided a fake recommendation letter to a co-conspirator that would be used in the co-conspirator’s Special Immigrant Visa application. The individual had not worked for an American company in Afghanistan, but used a draft provided by Aman to claim he had worked for the company.

In 2016, Aman allegedly provided a forged letter of recommendation that would be used a different person. Again in 2022, Aman assisted two others with false letters of recommendation and false employment information to try to obtain Afghan Special Immigrant Visas for each person.

Aman also made false statements about his marital status repeatedly. He was charged with making a false statement in a passport application and with using a passport secured by a false statement. Aman was also charged with two counts of submitting false writing for his forged letters of recommendation for non-citizens seeking visas.

The DOJ noted that conspiracy to defraud the U.S. carries a maximum of five years in prison.

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