Cognizant Tech Firm on Trial for Discrimination with H-1B Visa Fraud Alleged by Frenchman

Cognizant Tech Firm on Trial for Discrimination with H-1B Visa Fraud Alleged by Frenchman by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 24 – A Frenchman fired in 2016 by Cognizant Technology Solution, which now bills itself as an artificial intelligence firm, has a discrimination trial this week about his termination and alleged retaliation.     The complaint, partially redacted, recounts anti-Western (or "anti-American") quotes by Cognizant executives, and alleged abuse of US visa to being in workers from India.  It says "Cognizant would proactively apply for and secure visas for fake jobs. This was illegal. Each H-1B and L-1 visa application required an actual job to exist against which the visa is sought. Cognizant sidestepped this requirement by falsifying jobs and submitting to the government fraudulent visa applications against the fake jobs."    The plaintiff filed a qui tam / False Claims Act case, unsealed in 2020. [There follows more than a half-page of redaction.]    On March 24 the plaintiff was on the stand. On cross examination he was shown 2016 emails in which rather than directly answering his supervisor's request, he referred him elsewhere, to a woman in Human Resources. "She had the documents," he said. Another exhibit was cued up. The trial continues.    The case is Franchitti v. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, et al., 1:21-cv-2174 (Furman) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material / documents on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. And/or join on Substack here, for Extra like on X for Subscribers Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com