SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA – A former immigration officer who was found guilty of taking bribes from Cambodian immigrants in exchange for immigration benefits, including granting the immigrants temporary legal status, has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guildford sentenced Billy Louis Nelms Sr., 54, of Los Angeles, to four years and three months in prison on Monday.
During the federal court proceeding Monday, Judge Guilford called the corruption offenses a “disappointment,” noting that “we live in a cynical time where people are not believing in their government.”
Judge Guilford also stated that Nelms’ corrupt actions sent a poor message to immigrants, essentially telling them: “Pay the man, get the result.”
Following a seven-day trial, a federal jury on August 1 found Nelms guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery and defraud the United States, bribery, conspiracy to witness tamper and witness tampering.
“These corrupt actions challenged the integrity of an immigration system Mr. Nelms had sworn to uphold,” said Acting U. S. Attorney Stephanie Yonekura.
Adding, “Mr. Nelms may have believed that he was above the law, but the prison sentence imposed (Monday) shows that everyone will be held accountable for their illegal actions.”
Nelms’ wife, Sokhon Nelms, 60, also of Los Angeles, also was found guilty of conspiracy to witness tamper and witness tampering for threatening two witnesses at the behest of her husband. Sokhon
Nelms is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Guilford on November 6.
The evidence at the couple’s trial showed that, between 2005 and August 2008, Billy Nelms worked in the Santa Ana federal building as an immigration officer in the Fraud Detection and National Security unit, which is part of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
As part of his job, Nelms was involved in, among other things, investigating marriage fraud on applications for an immigration benefit.
The bribery scheme involved Cambodian immigrants who were present in the U.S. without legal status and promised permanent legal status by Nelms.
The immigrants paid as much as $5,000 in cash, and, in exchange for this, Nelms stamped immigration documents that gave the immigrants temporary legal status in the United States – but not the permanent status they sought
After Nelms was indicted on bribery charges in June 2013, Nelms and his wife tampered with two of the witnesses in the bribery case.