More than 1,000 fraudulent weddings arranged over a decade, officials say
The Department of Justice has charged 11 people with participating in a decade-long scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to U.S. citizens, Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Wednesday.
The DOJ described the case as a multimillion-dollar scheme orchestrated from New York. Court papers detail how the operation paired immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status with U.S. citizens paid to pose as spouses.
Authorities said they believe the group arranged more than 1,000 sham weddings over the course of the operation. Officials said the case generated tens of millions of dollars over the decade-long scheme.
American citizens were paid as much as $30,000 each to enter into bogus marriages, according to court papers. Defendants charged immigrants up to $100,000 per fraudulent green card, according to officials.
The Justice Department announced the charges from Washington.
“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.