Federal prosecutors say a Dallas-area visa consulting operation spent seven years running what amounts to a visa mill, using phony job listings and sham payrolls to lock down H-1B work visas and employer-sponsored green cards for noncitizens. Two men and two business entities are now under federal indictment in Dallas on charges that include visa fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering and a RICO conspiracy. The allegations, unsealed last year, have kicked off fresh scrutiny of H-1B sponsorships across North Texas.
According to a U.S. Attorney's Office release, the indictment says defendants Abdul Hadi Murshid and Muhammad Salman Nasir, along with the Law Offices of D. Robert Jones PLLC and Reliable Ventures, Inc., submitted and caused to be submitted false and fraudulent visa applications to obtain immigration benefits. The U.S. Attorney's Office says the FBI led the investigation with help from Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. If convicted on the charges listed in the indictment, the defendants face statutory penalties that in some counts go up to 20 years in prison, and prosecutors allege Murshid unlawfully sought to obtain U.S. citizenship.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
The Dallas Morning News reports prosecutors allege the defendants placed classified ads for non-existent positions to satisfy Department of Labor recruitment rules, then used the fraudulently obtained labor certifications to file I-129 petitions with USCIS and to apply for EB-2 and EB-3 green-card sponsorships. The indictment also alleges the defendants collected money from visa seekers and funneled portions back to them as sham payroll so fictitious jobs would look legitimate on paper. FBI Dallas Special Agent R. Joseph Rothrock described the allegations as an international enterprise that undermined immigration laws, according to the coverage.
Why it’s back in the headlines
Court filings and local reporting show the case is very much alive. The docket and press coverage list a final pretrial conference set for September 4, 2026, and several pretrial motions still pending, according to The Dallas Express. The outlet also notes property records cited in filings that tie one defendant to a Prosper residence valued at roughly $1 million, a detail prosecutors pointed to when describing the scheme's proceeds. Murshid has pleaded not guilty, court records show.
State probes join federal scrutiny
The federal case is unfolding alongside expanded state attention to possible H-1B abuse. Attorney General Ken Paxton's Office announced a civil investigation into suspected “ghost” employers on January 28, 2026, issuing civil investigative demands to three North Texas companies that his office says may have listed fake offices or job sites to sponsor visas. Paxton framed the move as a way to protect Texas jobs and to weed out companies that allegedly manufacture positions to obtain immigration benefits.
Legal implications
Prosecutors charged Murshid and Nasir with conspiracy to defraud the United States, visa fraud, money laundering conspiracy and RICO conspiracy, and the U.S. Attorney's Office notes an indictment is an allegation, not proof of guilt. If convictions are obtained, the defendants face significant prison exposure and, in Murshid's case, possible denaturalization tied to alleged false statements on a naturalization application. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ted Hocter, Tiffany H. Eggers and Jongwoo Chung are prosecuting the matter.
What to watch next
Defense lawyers and prosecutors have traded a series of pretrial motions and continuances as they gear up for the next phase of the case. The September pretrial conference should clarify whether the matter will head to trial or resolve earlier, court-watchers say. Hoodline coverage of the indictments in a May 2025 report noted that both defendants' attorneys have not publicly commented.
The Murshid Nasir indictments have sharpened focus on how employment-based visa programs are policed in North Texas and who profits when those systems are abused. Observers will be watching court filings and state probes closely as the case moves toward the September 2026 pretrial date.
