Sampath Rajidi and Sreedhar Mada, both 51 and residents of Dublin, California, have admitted to running a fraudulent scheme involving the H-1B visa program in the United States. According to the US Justice Department, they exploited 'ghost' job offers associated with the University of California to secure work permits for foreign nationals. Rajidi operated two visa-servicing companies, S-Team Software Inc. and Uptrend Technologies LLC, while Mada held a supervisory role at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) in Davis, California. The investigation revealed that Mada lacked the authority to hire H-1B workers without consulting senior officials. Between June 2020 and January 2023, they submitted multiple fraudulent H-1B visa petitions claiming foreign workers would be employed in university-related roles. Once the visas were approved, they marketed these beneficiaries to other clients, effectively taking H-1B spots away from legitimate applicants. The Justice Department stated that their actions not only misled the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) but also created an unfair advantage over competing firms. Both Rajidi and Mada now face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.