Lori Consalvo, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 11/10/2008 10:04:46 PM PST
A Rancho Cucamonga couple are facing a 75-count federal indictment on charges of bribery, money laundering and other charges for accepting payments to adjust the immigration status of aliens, officials said.
Constantine Kallas, a senior attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and his wife, Maria Kallas, were originally arrested on June 26, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
They were originally indicted July 9 on charges of bribery and aiding and abetting. But further investigation led to more charges. The 75 counts, which were added by a federal grand jury on Oct. 29, include fraud and misuse of entry documents, false statements on foreign labor-certification petitions and federal workers' compensation fraud, Eimiller said.
The Kallases were arrested in June at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino near Highland, where they allegedly accepted a bribe from an immigrant looking for documents that would help him stay in the United States.
Constantine Kallas, 38, is in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. Maria Kallas, 40, was released on $200,000 bond.
Although the Kallases are accused of working together, the charges against Constantine Kallas are more serious, because he was a government employee, Eimiller said.
A trial has been set for March 24. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
The Kallases have pleaded not guilty, Eimiller said. Constantine Kallas has been with ICE since June 1998, but he has been on unpaid leave since January 2007.
In his position at the government agency, Kallas worked with many immigrants.
"He contacted a number of aliens, promising them benefits like green cards in exchange for payments," said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. "But the immigrants didn't receive any benefits from him, and he was simply taking their money."
The Kallases used two companies they started - Botno Inc. and Mississippi Valley Consulting Inc. - to file employment petitions with the Department of Labor and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the affidavit stated.
They received thousands of dollars from illegal immigrants and legal permanent residents in exchange for immigration benefits, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Bank records show that, aside from Constantine Kallas' salary, about $950,000 has been deposited in the couple's bank accounts since 2000, according to the affidavit.
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