A businessperson from North Carolina pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud for submitting false and misleading information in support of at least 183 initial H-1B petitions and 100 H-1B extension petitions, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The falsification brought in at least $26.2 million in revenue for three firms: Kronsys Inc., Cygtec Inc. and Arkstek.

The defendant, Sairam Yeruva of Cary NC., faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine according to the US Attorney’s Office.

Yeruva’s petitions H-1B petitions claimed the workers would be at specific locations in Raleigh, NC, or Aurora, Colo., and paid the prevailing wage throughout the entirety of their H-1B status, according to the US Attorney’s Office. However, the workers were provided to clients throughout the US and many workers were benched without pay while between assignments.

H-1B visas are used to bring in highly skilled foreign workers on a temporary basis.