DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY IN VISA SCAM; OVER $90,000 IN RESTITUTION SECURED FOR VICTIMS

Usanewsonline Desk:  Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by New York City Police Department Commissioner  Keechant L. Sewell and Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service  New York Field Office Keith J. Byrne, announced today that Olimzhon Turdialiev, 39, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property and subsequently made restitution of $92,000 to four victims. The defendant was indicted by a grand jury in October 2017 for stealing over $100,000 from members of the  Uzbek community by promising U.S. visas for their relatives in exchange for cash. Turdialiev fled the state  following his initial arrest and was extradited to face charges in Queens County on August 8, 2022.  

District Attorney Katz said, “The victims in this case included members of the immigrant  community desperately trying to reunite with their loved ones in America. Scammers and fraudsters who  take advantage of fraught situations for their own financial gain will face justice in Queens County, no  matter how long it has been since the crime took place. In pleading guilty, the defendant has taken  responsibility for scamming four individuals who sought a better life for themselves and their loved ones.  The defendant has now made restitution and is on notice that this criminal behavior will not be tolerated.” 

NYPD Commissioner Sewell said, “Mr. Turdialiev targeted vulnerable people in his own  community, betraying their trust for profit. The NYPD and our law enforcement partners will continue to  aggressively pursue anyone who seeks to defraud others, holding them fully accountable for their actions.  I want to thank and commend the Office of the Queens District Attorney and our NYPD investigators for  their tireless dedication to seeing justice served in this case.” 

Special Agent-in-Charge Byrne said, “The Diplomatic Security Service is firmly committed to  working with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of crime related to passport and visa  fraud, and to bring those who commit these crimes to justice.” 

Turdialiev, of Bay Parkway in Brooklyn was arrested on September 8, 2017, and subsequently  charged with criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes. On October 24, 2017, the defendant  was indicted by a grand jury in a 9-count indictment charging him with criminal possession of stolen  property in the second degree, two counts of grand larceny in the third degree, criminal possession of a  

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forged instrument in the second degree and scheme to defraud in the first degree.  

Shortly following the indictment, the defendant fled the state. In June 2022, Turdialiev was charged  with grand larceny in Clackamas County, Oregon and was subsequently identified as a defendant in Queens  County. Upon the resolution of the Oregon case, Turdialiev was extradited back to New York to face  charges. 

On September 12, 2022, Turdialiev pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in the  fifth degree before Queens Criminal Court Judge Toni Cimino. As part of the agreement, the defendant provided restitution in the amount of $92,000, accounting for nearly 80% of the stolen funds. 

According to the charges, in September through November 2016, the defendant met with four  separate Queens residents, all of whom are members of the Uzbek community. At the time, he claimed that  he was able to obtain U.S. visas for their relatives who were still living abroad in exchange for cash. 

District Attorney Katz said, upon paying the defendant a total of $32,000 in September and October  2016, the first victim was instructed to have her four relatives mail their Uzbek passports and a provided  application to an address in Ukraine. Turdialiev later provided a photocopy of one the visas to the victim.  However, the victim’s relatives never received either document. It was later discovered that the U.S.  Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) intercepted the package in Moldova containing  Uzbekistan passports belonging to the family of the first victim along with fraudulent U.S. visas.  

Continuing, District Attorney Katz said, the second victim paid a total of $49,000 to the defendant  on three separate dates for U.S. visas for her two sons and brother living in Uzbekistan. In October 2016,  the defendant sent a photocopy to the second victim that appeared to show the passports now containing a  valid U.S. visa. However, upon receiving their passports, the relatives abroad determined that the included  visas were fraudulent based upon the physical appearance of the document. 

Also in October 2016, a third victim paid a total of $17,000 to the defendant for a U.S. visa for her  brother-in-law living in Uzbekistan. The relative abroad was instructed to provide his passport and an  application to the defendant’s associate in Uzbekistan. The brother-in-law never received his passport nor  the visa.  

In November 2016, a fourth victim provided the defendant with $17,000 in cash for a U.S. visa for her brother living in Uzbekistan. The victim accused the defendant of fraud when her relative never received  his passport after mailing the documents as instructed. In February 2017, Turdialiev agreed to return the  Uzbek passport back to the victim but never provided the cash paid.  

The investigation was conducted by Sergeant Dmitriy Zabrovskiy and Detective Colin Sullivan, of  the NYPD’s Criminal Intelligence Section in collaboration with DSS and the U.S. Embassy in Moldova. 

Assistant District Attorney George J. DeLuca-Farrugia, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Queens District  Attorney’s Felony Conference Bureau and Director of the Queens District Attorney’s Extraditions,  Renditions and Property Release Services, handled the extradition with the assistance of law enforcement  officials from Oregon.

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Assistant District Attorney Sean Murphy of the District Attorney’s Major Economic Crimes Bureau  prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Mary Lowenburg, Bureau Chief,  Assistant District Attorney Catherine Kane, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, Assistant District Attorney  Jonathan Scharf, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District  Attorney of Investigations Gerard Brave.