March 25, 2010

9 plead guilty in marriage fraud scheme
Individuals entered into sham marriages to gain citizenship

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nine individuals who were arrested last December as part of Columbus-based marriage fraud scheme pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court. Two are awaiting trial.

Carter M. Stewart, U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Ohio and Michigan, announced the pleas on March 25.

According to the investigation, Columbus-area residents Hasan Salohutdinov, Dmitry Pani, Sviatlana A. Piskunova and Laura Elizabeth Grace Scott recruited U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, primarily Eastern Europeans, to enter into sham marriages to evade immigration laws, starting in January 2007. The foreign nationals paid about $17,000 to marry U.S. citizens. The foreign nationals were allegedly promised legal residency in return for marrying citizens and the citizens were promised monetary compensation.

The investigation also revealed that defendants would counsel sham wedding partners regarding actions to take in order to lend the appearance of being a legitimate marriage, and assist non-citizens in preparing fraudulent documents to present to immigration officials.

Each count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Foreign nationals also face deportation after any prison time served. A list of those charged is below:

Charged foreign nationals

Name	City	Status
Hasan Salohutdinov	Columbus	Awaiting trial
Elbek Saidjanov	Philadelphia	Awaiting trial
Dmitri Pani	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Sviatlana Piskunova	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Laura Scott	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Courtnie Good	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Iskander Tairov	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Brent Woods	Columbus	Guilty Plea
LaDawna Tackett	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Djafar Sobirov	Columbus	Guilty Plea
Sobithon Mirzaev	New Orleans	Guilty Plea

Stewart commended the investigation by ICE agents, and the assistance of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Columbus Police Department Franklin County Sheriffs Office and Reynoldsburg Police Department.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

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