Eleven people from Southern California were indicted Thursday for allegedly arranging sham marriages out of brick-and-mortar offices in L.A., Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins announced.
BOSTON -- A Philippine national living in Los Angeles was arrested Thursday on federal charges alleging he ran a large-scale marriage fraud scheme that allegedly arranged hundreds of sham marriages used to circumvent immigration laws.
The business then allegedly prepared and submitted false petitions, applications and other documents to substantiate the sham marriages and secure adjustment of clients' immigration statuses for a fee of between $20,000 and $30,000 in cash, according to prosecutors. Benitez allegedly operated the agency out of brick-and-mortar offices in L.A., where he employed his co-conspirators as staff.
After pairing foreign national clients with citizen spouses, Benitez and his staff allegedly staged fake wedding ceremonies at chapels, parks and other locations, performed by hired online officiants.
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