Investigators probe DHS manager's scheme to fake immigration papers

The Homeland Security Department's inspector general and the FBI are reviewing the circumstances that allowed a veteran federal manager to falsify immigration documents in exchange for $600,000 in bribes.

Robert T. Schofield, a manager at the Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau within DHS, pleaded guilty Thursday to taking bribes from Asian immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. The Justice Department announced when Schofield was arrested in June that the FBI and DHS' inspector general were investigating the matter.

DHS would not comment on the IG's role in the investigation; separate calls to the inspector general's office were not returned. The FBI also did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

But a source familiar with the continuing investigation said Schofield will submit to polygraph tests and additional interviews.

Schofield served as CIS' supervisory district adjudications officer and, according to court documents, conspired with Qiming Ye, an immigration broker, over eight years to falsify the paperwork of more than 180 immigrants. Court documents alleged that Schofield used the $600,000 to pay off his home loan and to pay for jaunts through Southeast Asia, where he visited prostitutes.

Ye had already pleaded guilty to his role in document fraud; Schofield faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

Schofield was responsible for supervising CIS adjudicators and researching eligibility entitlements for people seeking legal status or employment. He is a 30-year veteran of federal immigration offices.

Documents also alleged that "numerous" complaints were made against Schofield, dating back to when he worked at the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, according to The Washington Post. He was demoted at one point and had a relationship with a woman connected to an INS criminal probe. When approached by INS officials, Schofield fled the United States for East Asia and used his government credit card to make $36,000 in purchases, court documents stated.

Federal officials are seeking to track down illegal immigrants who got false papers through Schofield and Ye. His attorneys sought a temporary release Thursday so that he could help investigators examine files he handled to determine how many fake documents were issued, but U.S. District Judge James Cacheris ordered him back to jail following his guilty plea.