It seems there’s no end to how immigrants are trying to sneak into this country.
Okay, so picture this.
We’ve got four grifters running an operation, or rather, an ‘agency’ out of Los Angeles.
And these four Philippine nationals were printing out fake marriage documents left and right like they were Kinko’s. Only, instead of 15 cents a copy, they were selling their fake service for $20,000 and more.
They reached over 600 illegal immigrants before the FBI put an end to their happily-ever after grift.
Wait, was that really the FBI doing something about illegal immigration? Shocking!
As a result of an investigation led by #FBI Boston, four operators of a large-scale marriage fraud "agency" that arranged sham marriages and submitted fraudulent green card applications for over 600 non-citizen "clients" have been sentenced. https://t.co/Guq0H42VWfpic.twitter.com/UUDVZxQAYK
Four fraudsters caught operating a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” — setting up sham marriages to help over 600 migrants bypass immigration laws and obtain green cards — were sentenced this week for the scam in federal court in Boston.
The group of scammers, all Philippine nationals living in Los Angeles, were charged with marriage fraud and immigration document fraud for recruiting American citizens to marry the agency’s clients, staging “hundreds of sham marriages” in exchange for cash, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said.
Authorities said Marcialito Biol Benitez, 50, ran the so-called “agency” out of brick-and-mortar offices in Los Angeles and would rely on his co-conspirators to recruit Americans to wed the agency’s clients.
The agency would then stage fake wedding ceremonies with hired online officiants — and took “photos of undocumented clients and citizen spouses in front of prop wedding decorations for later submission with immigration petitions,” the attorney’s office said.
Benitez and his co-conspirators would also help the phony couples prepare to pass interviews with immigration authorities and “advised clients about creating and maintaining the appearance of legitimate marriage to their spouses,” the attorney’s office said.
The scam marriages and adjustment of clients’ immigration status would cost between $20,000 and $35,000 in cash.
Authorities said Benitez’s agency would also help some clients whose fake spouses became unresponsive or uncooperative by obtaining green cards under the Violence Against Women Act, claiming the undocumented client had been abused by their American spouse.
It was not immediately clear if any similar operations were recently discovered in New York.
Keep looking.
I’m willing to bet they’re are those running this grift in New York too.
The mastermind of the scheme, Marcialito Biol Benitez, was sentenced Thursday to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
Benitez, 50, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud in September.
Also Thursday, Juanita Pacson, 48, was sentenced to two years of supervised release with the first four months on home detention. Pacson also pleaded guilty in Septemeber.
On March 6, Engilbert Ulan, 43, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release after being convicted by a federal jury in November.
In January, Nino Valmeo, 47, was sentenced to three years of supervised release with the first six months on home confinement after pleading guilty in August.
People aren’t buying the lie of “they’re just fleeing a warzone and want a better life.”
Yeah, they're just here to better themselves 🙄
⚡️ In Massachusetts, some illegal immigrants from the Philippines set up a marriage agency and entered into fake marriages between US citizens and refugees. Over 600 immigrants who got a green card used their services. The scammers… pic.twitter.com/LzmjxkBmod
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!