Colorado CEO Kizzy Kalu, 47, faces 132 criminal charges, accused of luring foreigners to the United States to work for a nonexistent university and then stealing their salaries in what the government has called an “elaborate scheme.”
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Kalu of Highlands Ranch, Colo., allegedly enticed foreign nurses to work as teachers at an Adam University in Denver, an institution that Kalu’s alleged accomplice, Philip Langerman, 77, of McDonough, Ga., made up, according to a federal indictment.
Langerman was also indicted, but remains at large. Kalu is being held by U.S. Marshals’ his charges include visa fraud, forced labor, money laundering, human trafficking, criminal forfeiture and mail fraud.
According to ABC News, Kalu promised a salary of between $68,000 and $72,000 annually for the fictional teaching positions through the Foreign Healthcare Professional Group (FHPG), a company he operated, according to the indictment.
Once they were in the United States, Kalu informed them that the aforementioned positions were no longer available, and put them to work at various long-term care facilities, the indictment states.
Kalu is the chairman and CEO of Global Energy Initiatives (GEI), which manufactures and deploys hydro-kinetic power generators to Brazil and other developing countries, according to its website.
Photographs on Kalu’s Facebook page Saturday showed Kalu with his wife, Nicole, at the White House for an energy briefing in September.
Kalu also operates the Global Village Hope Foundation, an international volunteerism program whose motto is “You are the hope for the hopeless.”
On the foundation’s website, supporters are asked to send donations to 5630 Wickerdale Lane in Highlands Ranch, Colo., Kalu’s residence.
Kalu is in federal custody, being held by the U.S. Marshals, despite other news reports that he is out on bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. If convicted, he could spend up to 20 years in prison.
