WASHINGTON — The feds nabbed 11 suspects accused of operating a decade-long, multimillion-dollar marriage fraud scheme that resulted in around 1,000 sham weddings between primarily Chinese nationals and US citizens for the purpose of getting the Asians green cards.
The “cottage industry” uncovered Wednesday charged foreign nationals up to $100,000 for each fake union, including submitting fraudulent applications to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of those seeking lawful permanent residency.
The sham wedding ring used advertisements on social media platforms, held phony marraige ceremonies and even had both parties to the fake unions sign bizarre pre-nuptial agreements, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York alleged.
One of those agreements expressly stated that “except in the name of husband and wife, both parties live independently and must not interfere with each other,” according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Each defendant faces charges of conspiring to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud as well as conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the US.