A marriage fraud ring based in Massachusetts set up hundreds of sham marriages for their customers to obtain legal immigration status.
Leah Foley, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, announced those allegations Wednesday, saying that the scheme generated more than $6 million in profits over more than a decade.
Foley said that Jennifer Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, is the mastermind of the operation.
Investigators claim that five other U.S. citizens were also involved in the business. They’ve all been charged with “conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud.”
Participants in the scheme would get married to their “customers,” stay married a few years, get divorced and then get married again to a new customer to keep the scheme going.
“Gonzalez allegedly charged between $38,000 and $40,000 per marriage and arranged 18 to 20 sham marriages per year for over 10 years,” Foley said.
Investigators say that the customers would usually make monthly payments to their spouse or someone close to the spouse. Gonzalez allegedly coached the customers on how to establish the appearance of a legitimate marriage through methods like setting up life insurance policies and joint bank accounts.
“My hope is that today the charged defendants and others like them realize that the American dream is not for sale, it is earned,” Foley said. “And when you try to pilfer it for profit, we will hold you accountable.”
John Soars, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said that the defendants are also accused of enriching themselves through SNAP benefits, housing and unemployment fraud.
“Marriage fraud underlies the processes that ensure honest, lawful individuals can marry United States citizens and enjoy everything the United States has to offer to them,” Soars said. “Fraudsters, like the individuals arrested today, make that process more difficult for those who tell the truth and typically do the right thing.”
Gonzalez allegedly took profits from the scheme and used them to invest in business and property in the Dominican Republic. Foley said they will be working with Dominican authorities to identify and seize assets sent there.
