The operation averaged roughly 18 to 20 sham marriages per year and charged between $38,000 and $40,000 for each one.
Federal prosecutors have charged six individuals in Massachusetts in connection with a large-scale marriage fraud scheme that arranged sham marriages between illegal immigrants and US citizens. The alleged ringleader, 43-year-old Jennifer Gonzalez of Fall River, is accused of operating the business for at least a decade.
Gonzalez was arrested on Wednesday, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Gonzalez allegedly ran a business in which illegal immigrants paid for the sham marriages and then submitted applications to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to obtain legal immigration status. Gonzalez then paid the other defendants to engage in one or more marriages to these “customers.”
The operation averaged roughly 18 to 20 sham marriages per year and charged between $38,000 and $40,000 for each one. Gonzalez is accused of earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per year over the last decade. She then used the proceeds to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic, which she referred to as “my country.”
“It is alleged that Gonzalez instructed her illegal alien customers about how to establish the appearance of a legitimate marriage, including setting up life insurance policies and joint bank accounts and taking selfie-style pictures as a married couple,” the attorney’s office said in a press release. “Gonzalez allegedly told her illegal alien customers that it would take three to four months to prepare sufficient documentation of the sham marriage to use to apply for immigration status and required her customers to sign ‘contracts’ to pay for her services.”
Court documents revealed that Gonzalez was captured on video and audio recordings directing the printing and signing of a disguised “loan” contract and accepting a cash down payment for a sham marriage. She explained that the contract intentionally omitted references to the spouse because doing so would be “incriminating.”
Customers allegedly made ongoing monthly payments of $500 to their assigned “spouses” or someone close to that spouse to maintain the sham marriage. The defendants took photographs at wedding ceremonies and social outings with their sham spouses to use when applying for immigration status.
The Justice Department also alleged that multiple defendants lied on Massachusetts SNAP benefit applications by falsely claiming they had never been married, even while filing federal immigration petitions on behalf of the clients. Gonzalez allegedly received and spent over $120,000 in SNAP benefits while operating the scheme and purchasing property in the Dominican Republic.
Harboring illegal immigrants and conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants each carry potential penalties of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Marriage fraud and conspiracy to commit marriage fraud each carry potential penalties of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Powered by The Post Millennial CMS™ Comments
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
Comments