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Search Warrants Served In Connection With $50M Visa Fraud Scheme

SAN GABRIEL (CBSLA.com) — Federal investigators served search warrants Wednesday at a business and two homes in the San Gabriel Valley.

According to the FBI, the warrants were served in connection with a probe into an alleged $50 million high-end visa fraud scheme involving as many as 100 Chinese nationals.

RELATED: EB-5 Visa Fraud Search Warrant

Authorities searched the offices of the California Investment Immigration Fund in San Gabriel, along with a home in Arcadia and a townhouse in El Monte, according to a federal affidavit.

The company was once praised by President Obama for "fine work" and there are pictures in the office of Bill and Hillary Clinton posing with employees.

Three suspects targeted in the investigation allegedly operated a scheme involving the EB-5 visa program, which offers foreign nationals legal residency in the U.S. in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in businesses that create at least 10 American jobs.

Investigators say those jobs were few and far between and that the investments were used for personal use such as million dollar homes.

Some of the Chinese nationals were fugitives on China's "100 most wanted" list.

(©2017 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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