In US' Major H-1B Fraud Probe, Trump Official's Cognizant Mention

The Donald Trump administration has launched its first major probe into alleged fraud linked to H-1B and PERM employment visas, with a senior federal official naming IT giant Cognizant while speaking about the investigation.

Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said officials have already issued multiple subpoenas as part of the large-scale probe into suspected labour trafficking and abuse of foreign worker programmes.

H-1B visa refers to a non-immigrant work permit that US employers use to hire professionals specialising in some occupations. Every year, thousands of Indians are hired using this visa.

"Without a doubt... we are going to take an aggressive action, which we believe is probably the most aggressive action against foreign labour fraud by an Inspector General, this administration," the senior official told Fox News in an interview. "We've already started to issue dozens of subpoenas."

He vowed to "track down every lead", and said whistleblowers had raised concerns over "some of the biggest companies, like Cognizant."

The investigators will "work side by side with the president and vice president's fraud task force" during the course of the probe, D'Esposito said.

An official statement by the Labour Department said the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the Department of Labour has uncovered widespread schemes in which employers and labour brokers submitted fraudulent applications, exploiting foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements.

"These abuses undermine the integrity of Department of Labour programs designed to address genuine labour shortages - not to line the pockets of bad actors at the expense of American jobs," the statement said.

Trump Official Links Fraud To Violent Crimes

In the interview, D'Esposito called the H-1B and PERM visa frauds "another example where fraud is fuelling violent crimes."

"Much of the visa and the human trafficking that we see when it comes to this foreign labour is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs. And this is the work that we should be doing, not only to make America safe again, but to make America more affordable again," he said.

He further claimed that the alleged fraud extends beyond labour-intensive professions.

"This is not just people working... in factories," D'Esposito said. "These are people working in medical facilities, in doctors' offices that are actually putting people in harm's way. I mean, to the potential of causing death." he said.

D'Esposito also said the probe will ensure American workers are not displaced through abuse of employment-based visa programmes.