They were promised the "land of dreams"/ The scheme followed by the director and teacher of "Qemal Stefa"

2024-06-10 21:09:00, Kronika CNA

They were promised the "land of dreams"/ The scheme followed by the

Klotilda Jaupi and Valentina Lamaj, illustrative photo

The authorities have unraveled the scheme of how the teacher and director of the school Qemal Stafa deceived young Albanians by promising them scholarships and job opportunities in the USA.

The director of the high school "Qemal Stafa", Klotilda Jaupi and the English teacher Valentina Lamaj in cooperation with each other had created a project called "Let's Talk Together About US2024", which was claimed to have been set up by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Embassy of SHBAA with the aim of helping young Albanians.

They deceived students by falsifying documents for the offer of scholarships to the USA.

"The Department of Criminal Police, under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana, joint investigations with law enforcement officials of the US Embassy in Tirana, for the discovery and suppression of a fraud scheme for the provision of opportunities/scholarships for students, for studies in the USA.

Following the investigative actions, the Police executed the decision of the Court, for the exercise of control in the apartment of the citizen VL, education official at the local level, part of the General Directorate of Pre-University Education in the Ministry of Education.

The VL citizen has been put under investigation, together with the KJ citizen, as it is suspected that in cooperation with other citizens, they have created a fraud scheme, by falsifying documents, to provide opportunities/scholarships for students to study at US universities , through the project known as "Let's Talk Together About US24", announced the Police.

There was also a reaction from the US Embassy, ??which called on Albanian citizens to be careful and not fall prey to fraud.

"The US Embassy is aware of a so-called project known as 'Let's Talk Together About US24.' This group has no affiliation with the US Embassy, ??the US Department of State, the US Department of Education, our educational programs, or embassy personnel. The US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service will continue to work with the State Police as they investigate the extent of this fraudulent scheme.

We urge all Albanians to be wary of scams that guarantee free travel to the United States, as well as free or low-cost American visas. We also urge anyone to contact the US Embassy if they suspect that any person or organization is attempting to falsely represent themselves as affiliated with the embassy," the US Embassy wrote./ CNA