According to court records, a federal appeals court last week overturned a lower court ruling that had dismissed a complaint brought by a student who had been tricked by an impostor institution established by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision from June 25 allows Teja Ravi and other parties to file a lawsuit against the ICE-created fake college that was promoted online.
In 2019, the undercover operation’s bogus University of Farmington came to light when eight individuals were charged with visa fraud and “harboring aliens for profit” in Michigan.
According to court filings, the institution did not provide any lessons, curriculum, or educators; the operation was intended to target fraud regarding student visas.
In the case, Ravi said he was one of the ones tricked into applying to the fictitious school and that he never received his tuition back.
A request for comment regarding the allegations in the lawsuit and the ruling by the appeals court was not immediately answered by the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a member, on Wednesday night.
The appeals court stated in its ruling that “Eventually, the government’s operations were discovered, but they did not reimburse Mr. Ravi for his money or give the paid-for education.”
In 2018, Ravi, an Indian citizen residing in Houston at the time of his application, launched a class action lawsuit, claiming breach of contract on behalf of all the other students.
In the case, Ravi stated that he sent $12,500 in tuition to an establishment he believed to be a respectable university. He added credibility to it by claiming to have received communications from individuals posing as university officials.
According to the complaint, two additional potential students included in the lawsuit paid $10,000 and $15,000 in tuition, respectively.
Ravi’s lawsuit was dismissed in March by a lower court judge due to a lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
The case was remanded after the appeals court overturned that decision.
In order to determine whether the government was participating in a contract like those made by private parties while carrying out a sovereign function, such as a criminal investigation and prosecution, it cited case law and precedent.
In 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, ceased to run the fictitious school.
The eight defendants charged in the inquiry planned to recruit people for what an ICE official called “an illegal pay-to-stay scam,” according to a 2020 statement from the agency. ICE has recognized that the school was a trap.
The federal appeal court stated in its ruling that Ravi, who was not prosecuted, registered in 2018 with the intention of obtaining a master’s degree in computer technology, one year prior to the institution being revealed to be phony.
According to court filings, Ravi departed the United States and went back to India once the fraudulent school was revealed.
A request for comment on Wednesday night was not immediately answered by Ravi’s civil suit counsel.
By enrolling them at what turned out to be the fictitious ICE school, the eight individuals who were indicted in the conspiracy case were allegedly trying to illegally assist hundreds of foreign nationals in continuing to live and work in the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit said at the time that they had been sentenced in 2020 to terms ranging from six months to two years in prison.