MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, September 4, 2012 (jsonline.com): The leader of a Hindu sect in Milwaukee who was convicted of bringing sham priests to the United States under a religious worker visa program will be sitting behind bars as he awaits sentencing. Sagarsen Haldar was ordered detained last week by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa, who cited the risk that Haldar might flee to his native India before his sentencing in October. Haldar faces up to five years in prison.
Haldar, 32, was convicted by a jury in November of conspiracy to defraud the government. The prosecutor showed that over two years Haldar filed 25 applications with the State Department to bring people from India to work at his temple in Milwaukee. They were not religious workers, however, but more like indentured servants who were charged up to $30,000 by Haldar to arrange their entry, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad.
The religious worker visa program was started in 1990 with prodding by the Catholic Church and other entities that were having trouble filling religious jobs. To qualify, candidates must already be part of the religious order where they will work and cannot do other work once they are in the U.S. The visa allows them to stay for 18 months but it can be renewed for up to five years.
Haldar, also known as Gopal Hari Das, is a permanent resident of the U.S. and lived in Milwaukee since 2003, leading the Gaudiya Vaisnava Society here. Between 2006 and 2009, Haldar filed documents for two dozen people to come to the U.S. from his native India. In testimony, the people said they did not work at Haldar’s temple, but rather at convenience stores or driving cabs. They were paid in cash for those jobs and handed over the money to Haldar, according to court documents.