US government charges 11 people in scheme to obtain green cards through sham marriages

The Department of Justice has announced charges against 11 individuals involved in a scheme to facilitate the fraudulent acquisition of U.S. green cards through sham marriages, officials revealed on Wednesday. The operation, which operated out of New York, involved American citizens paid up to $30,000 to marry immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status.

The scheme was orchestrated from New York and involved the arrangement of over 1,000 fake weddings, resulting in the generation of tens of millions of dollars over a decade. The charges bring to light one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in U.S. history, according to authorities. Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as a years-long, multibillion-dollar infrastructure aimed at assisting individuals who would not otherwise be able to become U.S. citizens.

The defendants were allegedly responsible for not only officiating the sham weddings but also assisting immigrants through the application process for lawful permanent resident status. The scheme reportedly involved staging photos of families at restaurants to make the marriages appear legitimate. Blanche noted that such schemes have real consequences, as they deprive the country of the ability to determine who should be allowed into America.

The indictment was filed in New York, but it was unclear whether the defendants had legal representation.