NC Student Visa Scam Ends With Guilty Plea

A North Carolina woman has pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with the school she ran in Charlotte.

Evelyn Mack pleaded guilty to felony charges of concealing, harboring or shielding unlawful aliens. Authorities say she took foreign teens coveted by basketball recruiters and enrolled them in her small private school.

The Charlotte Observer reports that court documents indicate she falsely represented about 75 teens as students in the Evelyn Mack Academy, taking about $1,000 per player from recruiters to do so.

She had run the school since 2000, and was authorized to enroll high school students under F1 visas. Those visas allow non-immigrant foreign citizens temporary entry into the U.S. to study.

Authorities say she entered false information into the Department of Homeland Security system to avoid detection by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mack faces up to ten years in prison.