Marriage Fraud Scheme Investigation

Some of the charged defendants acted as facilitators who

orchestrated the marriage fraud scheme pairing foreign nationals

seeking immigration stat-status with United

States citizens willing to participate and engage in a sham

marriage. These facilitators employed

attorneys, tax preparers, and marriage officiants.

Some of the other charged defendants acted as recruiters

by finding and recruiting United States citizens to participate in the scheme,

and other defendants acted as officiants,

officiating dozens of these alleged

fake marriages.

Now, the way that this scheme allegedly worked

is the facilitators

used social media and other forms of advertising to market

fraudulent immigration services to foreign nationals, primarily from

China, and Chinese nationals would pay these

facilitators as much

as one hundred thousand dollars for assistance in

obtaining a marriage, which then allowed them to apply for a

green

card.

The facilitators also paid willing US citizens as much as thirty thousand

dollars

to engage in the sham marriage with the foreign national.

Now, often after these phony ceremonies,

defendants would stage images of families at restaurants

to create the appearance of a legitimate wedding,

and some of the defendants also facilitated sham marriages

overseas in China.

After the marriages, um, took place, the actual ceremony, the

then-married couples would visit a local office affiliated

with the scheme,

sign forms for submission to the US Citizen and Immigration

Services, learn about the USCIS interview

process to apply for a green card, and then execute

prenuptial agreements, which,

not surprisingly given the allegation these were sham marriages,

waived their rights to share in the other's estate upon death, child

support,

and other claims in marital property.

One prenuptial ag-