Diplomatic Security Probe Leads To Prison For Ex-Foreign Service OfficerBureau of Diplomatic SecurityWashington, DC March 6, 2007 Former Foreign Service Officer Sentenced in Visa Fraud Conspiracy On March 1, 2007, Judge John W. Darrah, Northern District of Illinois, sentenced Matthew Christ to 24 months incarceration, three years supervised release and imposed a $5,000 fine. The court ordered Christ to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 23, 2007. A federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois found Matthew Christ guilty of conspiracy (to commit visa fraud), 18 USC 371, on November 1, 2006. Christ was a Foreign Service Officer, stationed at U.S. Embassy Vilnius, Lithuania, from August, 1999 to July, 2001. Christ was assigned as a political-economics officer at the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius where he conspired to fraudulently provide nonimmigrant visas. The trial began on October 23, 2006. Nine others also have been convicted in the case, the U.S. Attorney's office said. The co-conspirators obtained visas from Christ without the applicants’ having to appear in person at the American Embassy in Vilnius. The recipients then used the visas they fraudulently obtained to enter the United States, with most arriving at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The sentencing and conviction is the result of a 22-month investigation led by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago with cooperation from Lithuanian law enforcement authorities. The U.S. Department of State's Bureaus of Diplomatic Security and Consular Affairs work collaboratively to detect, combat, and prevent fraud or other criminal activities that threaten the integrity of U.S. visas and passports. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the U.S. Department of State’s law enforcement and security arm. The special agents, engineers, and security professionals of the Bureau are responsible for the security of 285 U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world. In the United States, Diplomatic Security personnel protect the U.S. Secretary of State and high-ranking foreign dignitaries and officials visiting the United States, investigate passport and visa fraud, and conduct personnel security investigations. More information about the U.S. Department of State and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security may be obtained at www.state.gov/m/ds. Contact: L. Kendal Smith |
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