Inside ICE: Volume 2, Issue 25

Landmark Marriage Fraud Case Nets 44 In California

SANTA ANA, Calif.—In what is believed to be one of the largest marriage fraud investigations ever undertaken in the United States, a total of 44 individuals have been indicted for their roles in an elaborate scheme to obtain fraudulent immigrant visas for hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese nationals based on sham marriages to U.S. citizens.

The indictments stem from a three-year, multi-agency investigation known as Operation “Newlywed Game.” The probe, led by ICE, received substantial assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).

Based on sealed indictments, ICE agents, accompanied by personnel from the DSS, executed arrest warrants and conducted searches at 13 locations in California on November 29. During the operation, 11 of the defendants were taken into custody. Most of the remaining suspects were either already under arrest on other charges.

The suspects in the case face a variety of federal charges, including conspiracy, fraud and misuse of visas, making false statements in passport applications, marriage fraud, and inducing aliens to enter the country illegally.

According to the indictments, the marriage fraud scheme involved a loose-knit network of “facilitators,” “recruiters,” and “petitioners.” At the heart of the conspiracy were the facilitators, who charged up to $60,000 to orchestrate sham marriages for foreign nationals with U.S. citizens for the purpose of submitting fraudulent immigrant visa petitions on behalf of the aliens.

The facilitators often used recruiters, who typically received $1,000 for each referral, to identify U.S. citizens willing to marry the aliens and submit the immigration visa petitions to USCIS. The U.S. citizen petitioners were paid thousands of dollars, plus travel expenses.

Since the foreign nationals often resided in Vietnam or China, the facilitators would then make arrangements for the U.S. citizen petitioners to go overseas to marry the aliens. After the sham marriage, the facilitators assisted the petitioners and aliens with filing bogus immigration petitions. The facilitators would also coach the petitioners and the aliens on what to say at subsequent adjustment of status interviews to persuade the USCIS officer that the couple had a legitimate marriage.

Because many of the facilitators used the same petitioners more than once, some of the U.S. citizens involved in the scheme had multiple “spouses” and submitted numerous fraudulent immigration petitions. Adjudicators at the USCIS California Service Center where the petitions are processed noticed the irregularities and alerted ICE agents, sparking the investigation. USCIS continued to support the investigation by referring scores of these cases through its newly established Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) program.

Back to Top

Landmark Marriage Fraud Case Nets 44 In California

ICE DRO’s Torres Joins Secretary Chertoff At SBI Press Conference

Jordanian Man Pleads Guilty To Middle East Smuggling Conspiracy

ICE Arrests Salvadoran Fugitive, Convicted Sex Offender

ICE Money Laundering Case Nabs Nine in Salt Lake City

Former Boy Scout Exec Gets 8 Years For Child Porn

ICE New Orleans Arrests 14 Illegal Workers

L.A. Woman Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Her Niece For Prostitution

ICE Most Wanted

Returning A Mexican Fugitive

Receive the latest ICE newsletter twice a month right to your inbox. Simply enter your information below.