The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has announced that a joint operation between the prosecutor’s office and the Regional Security Office of the US Embassy has uncovered two organized crime groups. Tbilisi Prosecutor Gigi Mikaya stated this at a briefing.
It is reported that following the tightening of US immigration policy, four Georgian citizens formed an organized crime group: they located Georgian citizens seeking asylum in the US and promised to help them prepare a so-called “case”—the narrative required to obtain asylum, gather evidence, and provide support in court.
Mikaya stated that the identities of 366 Georgian citizens who had approached members of this crime group to obtain asylum in the US have been established.
«The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has detained three individuals and initiated criminal prosecution against six others on charges of fraudulently acquiring large sums of money from citizens, facilitating the illegal stay of Georgian citizens abroad, organizing and facilitating the provision of knowingly false information to obtain asylum in a foreign state, as well as manufacturing and selling forged official documents.
During the investigation, it was established that due to the tightening of US immigration policy, crossing the American border has become significantly more difficult. In this regard, four Georgian citizens formed an organized crime group.
The investigation established the identities of 366 Georgian citizens who approached its members for assistance in obtaining asylum in the US.
Members of the group compiled fictitious “cases” describing non-existent stories of alleged persecution of Georgian citizens within the country for various reasons, including political views or sexual orientation. To support these stories, the group members manufactured forged documents and demanded large sums of money for their services.
For instance, they charged between $1,000 and $1,500 to prepare a fake “case,” and $3,000 to manufacture forged documents. In addition, they demanded and received an extra $6,000 to $8,000 from each client for managing the case and bringing it to a successful conclusion.
Furthermore, two members of the group promised assistance to Georgian citizens who had arrived in the US and were held in immigration detention. They demanded large sums of money for their services. The investigation established that the defendants seized $10,000 belonging to four citizens, but provided no assistance whatsoever.
In addition, the group members promised assistance in obtaining Canadian visas. As part of investigative operations, one of the defendants manufactured a forged bank statement, an employment certificate falsely stating that the individual worked in the US, and other fake documents for an undercover investigator from the prosecutor’s office in exchange for $800.
During the joint operation of the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia and the Regional Security Office of the US Embassy, another organized crime group was also uncovered, which helped citizens obtain US visas using forged documents.
Members of the group posted advertisements on various social media platforms, offering assistance in obtaining US visas. Clients were told that no payment for the services would be required until the visa was obtained, except for consular and other mandatory fees. However, in the event of a successful visa acquisition, they were required to pay between $10,000 and $15,000.
The investigation established that the group members manufactured and handed over forged official documents to 65 Georgian citizens for submission to the US Embassy. With their help, some of the applicants were indeed able to obtain visas. Following this, they handed over $112,000 in cash to the group members.
Later, embassy staff, doubting the authenticity of some documents, conducted an inquiry and uncovered the fraudulent scheme. As a result, visas were revoked for all citizens who had been assisted by this group.
Despite this, between January 2025 and February 2026, the members of the crime group received $142,786.43, 15,095 lari, and 1,560 euros from citizens as illegal income.
The defendants have been charged under several articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia, including facilitating the illegal stay of Georgian citizens abroad, organizing the provision of false information to obtain international protection, large-scale fraud, and manufacturing forged official documents. The maximum penalty for the charges brought carries up to 9 years of imprisonment.
The Prosecutor’s Office intends to petition the Tbilisi City Court within the legally prescribed timeframe to request preventive measures against all nine defendants.
The investigation is ongoing both into the specified episodes and to identify other individuals who may have been involved in the criminal activity,» Mikaya stated.
