For Immediate Release: November 11, 2008

SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT CHARGES COUPLE WITH 75 COUNTS IN CONNECTION
WITH A SCHEME TO TAKE BRIBES FROM IMMIGRANTS SEEKING CITIZENSHIP

 

A federal grand jury returned a 75-count first superseding indictment, on October 29, 2008, charging Constantine Peter Kallas, an Assistant Chief Counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and his wife, Maria Kallas with bribery, money laundering, federal worker's compensation fraud, and other federal charges in connection with accepting payments to adjust the immigration status of aliens, announced Thomas O'Brien, the United States Attorney in Los Angeles.

ICE Assistant Chief Counsel, Constantine Peter Kallas, 38, and his wife, Maria Kallas, 40, both of Alta Loma, were arrested on June 26th, 2008 by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ICE - Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, on suspicion of conspiracy, bribery, making false statements and making a false statement in an immigration application.

They were arrested at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, where they allegedly accepted a bribe payment from an immigrant seeking documentation to remain in the United States. The couple was indicted on July 9, 2008, for violation of Title 18, Section 201(b)(2), Bribery, and Section 2, aiding and abetting. The subjects' property and assets were subsequently seized.

Following the couple's arrest, agents from the FBI, ICE-OPR and IRS-CI executed a search warrant at the couple's home. According to the search warrant affidavit, the Kallases received thousands of dollars from illegal aliens and legal permanent residents ("green card" holders) in exchange for immigration benefits. The affidavit states that the couple used two companies they had set up - Botno Inc. and Mississippi Valley Consulting Inc. - to file employment petitions with the Department of Labor and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Kallas has been with ICE since June 1998, but he has been on unpaid leave since January 2007.

"The charges in this case are the result of a long-term internal investigation by ICE-OPR, the FBI, the IRS and the Department of Labor," said Paul Layman, associate special agent in charge for the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility in Los Angeles. "ICE holds its employees to the highest standards of professional and personal integrity. Guarding against illegal or unethical behavior is not an option; it is an obligation we have to the American people."

A review of the couple's bank records show that, beyond Constantine Kallas' salary, approximately $950,000 has been deposited in the couple's bank accounts since 2000, according to the affidavit.

On October 29, 2008, a federal grand jury returned a 75 count first superseding indictment charging Constantine and Maria Kallas with additional counts of bribery, money laundering, false statements, fraud and misuse of entry documents, false statements on foreign labor certification petitions and federal worker's compensation fraud. Constantine Kallas is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Maria Kallas was released on $200,000 bond. A trial has been set for March 24, 2009. If convicted, the couple faces a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

The case against the Kallases was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility, the Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General. This case was filed in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California and will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office.

Media Contact:

U. S. Attorney's Office: Thom Mrozek: 213 894-6947 or
Assistant United States Attorney
Raymond O. Aghaian: (213) 894-6567

ICE: Virginia Kice: 949 360-3096
FBI, Los Angeles: Laura Eimiller: 310 996-3343