President of Telugu Association of North America (TANA) Satish Vemana has categorically denied his organisation of having any relationship with Kishan Modugumudi or his wife Chandrakala Modugumudi who were allegedly indulging in visa fraud and prostitution racket.
In a clarification to the report that appeared in these columns on Wednesday, Vemana said TANA, the oldest, largest and most reputed Telugu Association in USA, did not hire agents to invite Telugu people of distinction to its functions and activities.
“We are appalled at the alleged activities of the Modugumudis and strongly urge the federal authorities to vigorously investigate and prosecute such persons that bring shame to our hard working community in USA,” he said.
Expressing anguish over the way the blatantly illegal activities of a few individuals are besmirching the reputation of the many Telugu associations in America where thousands of volunteers have been working hard to promote, preserve and propagate Telugu language and culture, Vemana said: “We will extend our full cooperation to all investigative agencies so that such illegal activities are rooted out and the hard earned, highly deserved positive image of our US Telugu community and organizations is preserved.”
On the reports that he was not available to the federal police in connection with the present case, Vemana said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had contacted him on May 8, 2018 via e-mail requesting some assistance with an investigation by Brian Ginn, Special Agent of DHS in charge of the investigation into the Modugumudis.
“Apparently, Ginn tried my telephone earlier and could not leave a voicemail message. I talked with Ginn the same day. He provided me with a copy of a letter on TANA letterhead with my signature and asked me to verify it was written by me. I clarified to Ginn that that the letter in question was not written by me, that my signature was forged to the letter, and that I am not personally acquainted with or had any contact with Kishan Modugumudi or Chandrakala Modugumudi,” he said.
Vemana said Ginn had thanked him for his cooperation.
“During the course of the conversation with Ginn, I learned that several forged invitation letters purportedly on behalf of several Telugu organizations were submitted to the American consulate to obtain visas in a fraudulent manner and that he had already talked with leaders of many other Telugu organizations in USA earlier and confirmed that,” he said.
He pointed out that the complaint filed against the Modugmudis already mentioned that the law enforcement agents had talked with the President of TANA and confirmed the forged and fraudulent nature of the documents.
