SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA – An immigration service officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who took thousands of dollars in bribes from immigrants who were seeking either citizenship or lawful permanent resident status in the United States was sentenced Friday to two years and six months in federal prison.
Mai Nhu Nguyen, 48, of Irvine, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton.
From 2011 through June 2013, Nguyen solicited and took bribes from Vietnamese immigrants.
In one case, officials said Nguyen took $1,000 from an immigrant seeking a “Green Card” and 200 egg rolls from an immigrant seeking citizenship.
Nguyen, who worked at the immigration office in Santa Ana for about eight years and is now on leave, was an immigration service officer with the power to approve or deny applications for immigration benefits that are submitted by immigrants, officials said.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General investigated this case.