WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Justice has filed charges against nearly a dozen people for their roles in a multimillion-dollar scheme that enabled hundreds of Chinese nationals to fraudulently secure green cards via fake marriages with U. S. citizens, officials reported Wednesday.
U. S. citizens received payments of up to $30,000 to participate in these sham marriages with immigrants looking to gain lawful permanent resident status. Court documents reveal the defendants charged as much as $100,000 per green card, accumulating tens of millions of dollars throughout the decade-long operation, according to authorities.
Officials believe the group was responsible for orchestrating over 1,000 fraudulent weddings and labeled this case as one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in U. S. history.
“This scheme was not a quick, fly-by-night operation but rather a yearslong, multibillion dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States,” Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters.
The charges come at a time when the Trump administration had imposed stricter regulations on both legal and illegal immigration aimed at controlling who can enter the country or attain citizenship.
After bringing U. S. citizens on board, the defendants organized fake ceremonies and sometimes even staged family photos at locations like restaurants afterward to make them appear genuine, according to officials. They then guided the immigrants through the application process for lawful permanent residency.
“These schemes have real cost. They rob our country of its ability to know who should be and who should not be allowed in America,” Blanche said.
The 11 individuals facing charges include those accused of officiating these bogus weddings and are detailed in an indictment submitted in New York. As of Wednesday afternoon, it wasn’t clear if they had legal representation available for comment.
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