Infosys, the giant Indian technology outsourcing company, has agreed to pay $34 million in a civil settlement. Federal prosecutors in Texas found the outfit had committed “systemic visa fraud and abuse” when bringing temporary workers from India for jobs in American businesses. The payment is the largest ever in a US visa case.

Prosecutors claimed that Infosys “knowingly and unlawfully” brought Indian workers into the United States on business visitor visas since 2008. This avoided the higher costs and delays of a longer-term employment visa the workers should have had. It is claimed that they unfairly gained a competitive edge and undercut American workers qualified for the jobs by using this method.

Infosys was said to have cooked the books by making extensive omissions and errors in the hiring records. This allowed thousands of Indians to continue working in the US after their visas had expired, according to the documents.