HYDERABAD: Six of the eight Indians, arrested in connection with the immigration fraud following the Farmington University crackdown in the US in January this year, have been sentenced to jail, according to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The two others will also be sentenced shortly. All the eight are originally from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh The Farmington University was set up by the ICE in Michigan in 2015 as part of its undercover operation to expose immigration fraud. Authorities claimed that international students had enrolled with the university through recruiters to illegally stay in the US.While Santosh Sama from Fremont has been sent to jail for 24 months, Barath Kakireddy of Lake Mary and Suresh Kandala of Culpeper have been awarded 18 months each in jail. Avinash Thakkallapally of Harrisburg has been sentenced to jail for 15 months and Aswanth Nune of Atlanta and Naveen Prathipati of Dallas have got 12 months each in jail.“All eight of the defendants have pleaded guilty,” wrote Khaalid Walls, northeast regional communications director/spokesman of the ICE in an e-mail interaction with TOI.According to Walls, the seventh accused, Prem Rampeesa of Charlotte, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19 this year and the last one, Phanideep Karnati of Louisville, in January 2020.“They will be deported to India following their prison terms,” Walls wrote.Earlier this year, as many as 145 Indian students of Farmington University were detained and deported for failing to “maintain non-immigrant status” as they were not enrolled “in a full course of study”. ICE officials had alleged that many of them also “participated in unauthorised Curricular Practical Training”, which allows students to work in the US.The eight Indian recruiters were charged with “fraudulently facilitating” this malpractice from February 2017 through January 2019, and allowing “foreign nationals in illegally remaining and working in the US”. Authorities said they “helped the students obtain immigration documents from the school and facilitated the creation of false student records, including transcripts, for the purpose of deceiving immigration authorities”.“All participants in the scheme knew that the school had no instructors or actual classes… The defendants intended to help shield and hide their customers/students from United States immigration authorities for money and collectively profited in excess of a quarter of a million dollars as a result of their scheme,” the US Attorney’s Office had reported.While US authorities drew flak from various quarters following the arrests of Indian students, with many attorneys terming it as a case of “entrapment”, ICE maintained it was a gross violation of immigration laws. “None of the individuals enrolled at the University of Farmington came directly from their home country and enrolled at this school. Instead, they were already in the United States and aware of the requirements to attend a school or university as a non-immigrant student… Individuals enrolled in the University of Farmington after learning there were no classes or curriculum; they abused the visa system in a manner that allowed them to work while not taking classes,” the ICE said.