Aug. 12 (UPI) — The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday that 11 people have been charged with in connection in a marriage fraud scheme that allegedly lasted more than a decade.
The department said in a release that those charged conspired to orchestrate more than 1,000 fraudulent marriages. These marriages allegedly were intended to obtain immigration status for foreign nationals, mostly citizens of China.
“The individuals who were arrested today allegedly orchestrated elaborate schemes to illegally obtain citizenship for foreign nationals through sham marriages,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Schemes like this are a deliberate affront to the United States and our laws and will not be tolerated under the Trump administration.”
The indictment was filed in the Southern District of New York. Some people paid up to $100,000 for a sham marriage to help them obtain a green card, with the U.S. citizens involved receiving as much as $30,000 from that fee, the Justice Department said.
At a press conference, Blanche said this marks one of the biggest marriage fraud prosecutions in U.S. history.
“This scheme was not a quick, fly-by-night operation, but rather a years-long, multimillion-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States,” he said.
Those allegedly running the scheme include defendants Amy Cheng, Xiao Mei Chan, Gang Zheng and Xiao Yan Chan. Others charged include “recruiters” who allegedly found U.S. citizens to take part and “officiators” who presided over the marriage ceremonies.
The Justice Department said organizers allegedly paired foreign nationals with U.S. citizens, arranging fake marriage ceremonies and staging photographs meant to make the wedding look authentic. Scheme participants also allegedly manufactured further evidence, including joint financial accounts and insurance policies.
Jamie McDonald, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at the press conference that the scheme generated “tens of millions of dollars.”