To
The Editor,
I am writing to clarify the inaccuracies and clear the air regarding a news items that are appearing in the web sites, that may mislead some to believe there was some misconduct on my part or on our beloved association. Those news items/articles has several inaccuracies. The facts are as follows.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has apparently been investigating for some time the visa fraud and prostitution racket run by Mr. Modugumudi and his associates. Mr. Modugumudi was charged and arrested by DHS agents on April 29, 2018. On May 8, 2018, I was contacted 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, Mr. Ginn tried my telephone earlier and could not leave a voicemail message. I talked with Mr. Ginn the same day. Mr. Ginn 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 Mr. 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. Mr. Ginn thanked me for my cooperation. During the course of the conversation with Mr. 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 has already talked with leaders of many other Telugu organizations in USA earlier and confirmed that. Mr. Ginn thanked me for my cooperation. The complaint filed against the Modugmudis already mentions that the law enforcement agents have talked with the President of TANA and confirmed the forged and fraudulent nature of the documents.
To my knowledge, Telugu Association of North America (TANA) has never had any relationship with Mr. or Mrs. Modugumudi. TANA, the oldest, largest and most reputed Telugu Association in USA, does 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. We regret that the blatantly illegal activities of a few individuals are besmirching the reputation of the many Telugu associations in America where thousand of volunteers have been working hard to promote, preserve and propagate Telugu language and culture. 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.
I would appreciate if you can publish this clarification in your web site.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Satish Vemana,
President
Telugu Association of North America (TANA)
