University of Northern New Jersey

The UNNJ sting operation took place following several high-profile student visa fraud cases involving phony universities, most notably Tri-Valley University in Northern California, an institution that offered classes but did not require students to attend. ==History of the sting operation==

The operation was created in September 2013 by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The fake university had an extensive internet presence, including an elaborate website with a .edu domain name, a crest (bearing a remarkable similarity to that of Princeton University, itself located in New Jersey) with a Latin motto, and a Facebook presence led by the university's "president"—a "carefully crafted character" named Dr. Steven Brunetti who had a LinkedIn page. The sting included a fictitious campus at 25 Commerce Drive, Cranford, New Jersey. In April 2016, Paul J. Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Sarah R. Saldaña, the director of ICE, announced that the sting operation had ended with the arrests of 21 people. ==Effects==

The New York Times reported that, "in interviews, more than a dozen students insisted that they were collateral damage in the sting operation, duped by both the brokers and the government." Ultimately, the scheme was replicated a mere two years later with the equally fictitious University of Farmington. == Class action litigation and settlement ==

On May 3, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted final approval to a class-action settlement for all students who enrolled in UNNJ for any length of time, plus their spouses and children. The settlement reverses many of the immigration-related harms suffered by members of the class. The settlement follows a decision by a federal appeals court that the students had a right to judicial review of the Government's decision to terminate their student status and take other adverse immigration action against them. ==See also==