11 arrested in US over alleged sham marriage scheme

WASHINGTON, United States — Eleven people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly organizing hundreds of sham marriages for foreigners seeking US residency, mostly Chinese nationals, officials said.

“This is one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a press conference in Washington.

“Not only are we protecting our physical borders from unlawful crossings, but we are also preventing immigration fraud schemes that are just another way to skirt the immigration laws of the United States,” Blanche said.

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Chinese nationals would pay up to $100,000 for a sham marriage to a US citizen, which would then allow them to apply for a green card giving them the right to stay and work in the US, he said.

The American spouse would receive up to $30,000 to marry the foreign national.

“This scheme was not a quick fly-by-night operation,” Blanche said. “But rather a years-long, multi-million-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not or legally could not otherwise become citizens of the United States.”

Ten of the 11 people arrested on Wednesday were naturalized US citizens originally from China while the other was a green card holder.

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Jamie McDonald, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the defendants and unidentified co-conspirators orchestrated more than 1,000 sham marriages over the past decade.

“They recruited US citizens to engage in sham marriages, arranged sham wedding ceremonies complete with officiants, wedding attire, photographers, and attendees,” McDonald said.

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“The defendants made enormous sums of money for themselves,” he said. “We believe this network took in tens of millions of dollars over its decade-long operation.”

They have been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the US, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.