"Pay-to-stay" scheme at fake N.J. university ends in arrests

The University of Northern New Jersey promised students the "highest quality of undergraduate and graduate education." The New Jersey college is officially out of business tonight -- its mission now accomplished.

"We told them there was no school and the brokers came. And with the brokers, they brought many, many students -- people purporting to be students, who enrolled in the university knowing full well that there would be no classes," said Sarah Saldaña, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It looked legitimate. There was a Twitter page with school closing and announcements, a Facebook feed featuring students wearing clothing baring the school's insignia -- but it was all part of an undercover Homeland Security sting, cracking down on immigration fraud.

At an office building in Cranford, New Jersey, agents posed as school administrators. Brokers then contacted the school to help people from other countries secure fake students and work visas.

This morning, 21 of those brokers were arrested. Authorities say they took kickbacks in the "pay-to-stay" scheme that involved more than 1,000 "foreign individuals" who were allegedly "willing participants." The brokers are included in some of the posed pictures taken under the school's sign.

Many of the suspects, working on behalf of people from more than 26 countries, will likely face deportation. Most were from China and India.