A scheme allegedly arranged at least 1,000 sham marriages in over a decade.
By Catholics for Catholics
Federal prosecutors cracked down on a nationwide marriage-fraud scheme, charging 11 people Wednesday for allegedly arranging 1,000 sham marriages for over a decade, helping foreign nationals obtain U.S. immigration status, according to the Justice Department.
The international plot mostly served Chinese citizens seeking immigration benefits in the United States, prosecutors said. According to a story by Newsmax. Authorities contend the operation paired foreigners with U.S. citizens in fake marriages created to bypass federal immigration laws.
A two-count indictment contends the network functioned from at least 2016 through July, garnering tens of millions of dollars from foreign nationals looking for lawful permanent resident status. Some customers supposedly paid as much as $100,000 for a sham marriage and assistance with obtaining a green card.
“This Department of Justice is rooting out fraud everywhere — including in our immigration system,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Blanche accused the defendants of carrying out elaborate schemes to illegally obtain immigration status through sham marriages and said such conduct “will not be tolerated under the Trump Administration.”
The defendants were arrested Wednesday and are expected to be arraigned in federal court in Manhattan.
🚨@AGToddBlanche announces the unsealing of an indictment charging 11 defendants with conspiring (over the course of more than a decade) to orchestrate more than 1,000 sham marriages to fraudulently obtain immigration status for foreign nationals, primarily citizens of China. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LxidrYiNmu
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) August 12, 2026
The scheme resulted in at least hundreds of fraudulent green card applications and supporting documents being submitted to USCIS. Based on the scale and duration of the operation, prosecutors believe the network collected tens of millions of dollars from foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent resident status.
“The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly operated a nationwide and international, multimillion-dollar marriage fraud scheme, using participants to abuse United States immigration laws for their own profit,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
“Today’s arrests have dismantled a central component of one of the largest marriage fraud schemes charged in United States history,” McDonald’s statement continued, adding that prosecutors and law enforcement partners would continue pursuing those who exploit the immigration system.
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