Carlos Adolfo Haeckermann Cardenas, a 62-year-old Colombian national residing in Doral, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a scheme involving the submission of fraudulent asylum applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Haeckermann was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 13, 2024. He pleaded guilty to all four counts in the indictment, each charging him with aiding and abetting a false statement on an immigration document, under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1546(a) and 2.
According to his plea agreement, Haeckermann admitted that he operated a business first in Colombia and later in the United States. Through this business, he charged fees to help Colombian nationals navigate visa and asylum application processes. He advised clients on what information to include in their applications and interviews with the goal of obtaining permission for them to travel or remain in the United States. Specifically, he told visa applicants to exaggerate their professional status and personal ties to Colombia so that U.S. immigration officers would believe they intended to return home rather than overstay their visas. For asylum applicants, Haeckermann embellished or invented stories of persecution in Colombia.
The four counts relate to asylum applications submitted between November 2019 and May 2020 by four of Haeckermann’s clients. For these cases, he created a story about political persecution that he used for each applicant after making minor changes. All four included the fabricated story at his direction. Haeckermann also acknowledged involvement with dozens of other fraudulent asylum applications.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and Jeff Rusinek, Chief of the Criminal Fraud Investigations Branch at the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), announced the plea.
“United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Criminal Fraud Investigations Branch Chief Jeff Rusinek made the announcement.”
Haeckermann was released on bond pending sentencing, which is set for November 5, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. He faces up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count; actual sentencing will consider federal guidelines under 18 U.S.C § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Parker is prosecuting the case with support from Lance Libatique following an investigation by DSS and USCIS.
