ICE investigation leads to couple charged with marriage fraud, making false statements

CAMDEN, N.J. — An Albanian national was charged with marriage fraud, and he and his wife, an American citizen, were both charged with making false statements on forms submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Newark.

The charges against Elvis Harizaj, 25, of Cherry Hill, and Natasha Flores, 27, of Newark, were announced May 28 by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden.

“This couple allegedly undermined the integrity of our U.S. immigration laws by entering into a deceptive marriage for the purpose of obtaining fraudulent legal status to remain in our country,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “These charges should serve as a warning to others that marriage fraud is a federal crime, and we will investigate and prosecute those who try to circumvent our nation’s legal paths to residency.”

According to HSI Newark’s investigation, Harizaj is a citizen of Albania and entered into a sham marriage with Flores for the purpose of obtaining permanent residence in the United States. On forms submitted to USCIS, Harizaj falsely stated that he lived with Flores and Flores falsely stated that she had never been married before. Flores, in fact, had previously been married to a Brazilian national who obtained U.S. citizenship based on his marriage to Flores. In addition, Harizaj was charged with marriage fraud.

The counts of false statements and marriage fraud both have a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of three years of supervised release.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.