Herguan University Case (2012)
In one sentence
The official went to prison and the school lost its certification too: SEVP found the school had failed to control its own official and was "culpable," and a court upheld that decision. The case has nothing to do with CPT; it is included because it is the only case found in which a court directly addressed a school answering for the person who signs on its behalf.
Facts
Herguan University was in Sunnyvale, California. Its CEO, Jerry Wang, was indicted on July 24, 2012; the superseding indictment alleged that from 2007 he caused the school to submit forged documents to SEVP. On April 9, 2015 he pleaded guilty to one false-document count — submitting a fraudulent "Academic Warning Letter" to DHS — and admitted to taking part in a visa fraud scheme involving more than one hundred Forms I-20 and to helping unauthorized people access SEVIS.
Outcomes by party
| Party | Finding | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer (the school's official) | Held responsible | Pleaded guilty under 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(3); sentenced in September 2015 to 12 months in prison, $700,000 forfeiture, and three years of supervised release |
| School (institution) | Held responsible | SEVP withdrew the school's certification; the school sued ICE and the suit was dismissed with prejudice in 2017 |
| SEVP / ICE | Enforcer | Issued a notice of intent to withdraw certification in 2012; after one remand, withdrew certification on June 13, 2016 |
| USCIS, employers, students | Not involved | Not addressed in primary sources |
SEVP's withdrawal decision rejected the argument that Wang acted alone. As quoted in the court's decision:
Though the school insists Wang acted alone, the lack of institutional control to prevent his criminal acts as well as his admission that he was a "participant in a scheme" renders the school culpable if not for his criminal acts then an institutional failure to comply with the regulations.
One of the grounds for withdrawing certification listed in 8 CFR 214.4(a)(2) maps directly onto CPT: a DSO willfully making a false statement in connection with a student's application for employment or practical training.
What this case shows
- The individual who signs bears the criminal liability; the school bears the loss of certification. A DSO's signature is both a personal act and an act of the school.
- A school that loses SEVP certification can no longer issue I-20s or authorize CPT. A CPT student's status rests on the school's certification.