WASHINGTON:- Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the arrest of Muhammad Zahid Chowdhury, a Pakistani-born fraudster who set a world record for fraud.
DHS issued a statement confirming the arrest of Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a notorious Pakistani-born financial criminal who set a world record for fraud, by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Choudhary first entered the United States in 1998 on a B-2 visitor visa after lying to the US government about his criminal history in Australia.
His criminal history in Australia includes five counts of financial fraud, possession of stolen goods and passport forgery. He lied about his criminal history in Australia to obtain a green card in the US.
He was denied US citizenship twice. Chaudhary has applied for US citizenship eight times since 2008.
Not only did Chaudhry hide his criminal history from the US government, but he also falsely claimed to have been deployed to Iraq. However, Defense Department records show that he was never deployed.
Furthermore, according to an Inspector General report dated September 13, 2021, this criminal illegal alien collected US$449,459.82 in taxpayer dollars from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
According to the investigation, Chaudhary currently owes the United States government a negotiated payment of US$81,080 for mortgage relief grants from the VBA. He has not yet made any payments on the outstanding amount.
He was issued a Notice to Appear by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2008 after immigration officials discovered that he had misrepresented his criminal history on immigration forms.
He appealed the final order of his expulsion several times over a period of 17 years.
“Sanctuary politician Bruce Harrell and the media are spreading a false lamentation story about this serial fraudster. After lying about his military service, he has been forced to pay over $81,000 to American taxpayers.
The history of this fraud has been cited countless times by the courts:
On August 21, 2025, ICE, in close coordination with USCIS, arrested Muhammad Zahid Chowdhury.
Choudhary appeared at a USCIS appointment in Tukwila, Washington, and was arrested after law enforcement found him in violation of federal immigration law and received a final order of removal from an immigration judge.
He is currently being held in deportation proceedings.