MIAMI, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The owner of a Miami language school has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for helping "students" get U.S. visas.
Lydia Menocal, 58, was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine at Friday's sentencing, The Miami Herald reported. The federal government has also claimed $600,000 in cash and property as the fruits of crime.
Ofelia Macal, 75, an employee of the school, was ordered to serve a year on probation and fined $1,000.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said 116 people were arrested for violations of rules on student visas during its investigation. ICE agents determined that after coming to the United States they did not put in the required number of class hours to justify their student visas.
"This case serves a warning to other academic institutions that you will be investigated and prosecuted if you engage in this type of criminal activity," said Anthony V. Mangione, head of the ICE Homeland Security Investigations Office in Miami.
The U.S. government tightened monitoring of foreign students after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Several of the hijackers entered the country on student visas to attend flight school.
