In what is the largest payment of its kind relating to alleged work visa fraud, India-based IT consulting giant Infosys (NYSE: INFY) has agreed to pay $34 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by multiple U.S. and state regulatory bodies, Infosys announced today.
The allegations first surfaced in 2010, two years after the first alleged violations occurred, according to federal regulatory officials. Federal authorities claim that Infosys committed "systematic visa abuse and fraud" by bringing Indian workers to the U.S. using less expensive, and less time-consuming, business visas rather than employment visas. Additionally, Infosys' visa paperwork contained numerous errors and omissions, federal authorities alleged, which could have resulted in workers staying well beyond the time their visas would have normally allowed.
Infosys, in today's statement, vehemently refutes the allegations, saying it "denies and disputes any claims of systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage, or immigration abuse. Those claims are untrue and are assertions that remain unproven."
According to Infosys, the $34 million settlement will come from a reserve of $35 million it had already set aside relating to the civil suit.
