Nearly 100 Indicted, 50 In Custody After Ice Uncovers Large-Scale Marriage Fraud Scheme

Authorities indicted 96 people and arrested 50 for a marriage fraud operation allegedly taking place in Vietnam and Houston.

A months-long Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) probe uncovered a criminal operation that enabled numerous foreign nationals to fraudulently obtain legal immigration status in the U.S., according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release Monday.

Under the alleged terms of conspiracy, immigrant beneficiaries would pay around $50,000 to $70,000 to get married and score permanent resident status. The marriages were complete shams, according to the April indictment.

The spouses typically met only briefly before they obtained their marriage licenses and did not live together after becoming a “married” couple. The criminal operation behind the marriages would go so far as to produce fake wedding albums and falsified tax, utility and employment information — all in an effort to convince USCIS to approve the forms.

‘Illicit’ version of fentanyl linked to deadly New Mexico incident that sickened first responders

High school teacher who allegedly had sex with student in closet now faces charges involving more teens

Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS

Children’s YouTube Superstar Announces the Death of His 14-Year-Old Son

Kyle Busch 911 Call Released, Shedding New Light on His Shocking Death

Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund

Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’

New Jersey Officials Say the Mafia Is Thriving Again as Tech-Savvy Mobsters Take Crime Online

Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight

Police: Men Executed Florida Firefighter for a Pair of Nikes and an iPhone, Gloated About It

Grady Judd puts parents on notice over TikTok teen takeovers: ‘We’re gonna come lock you up too’

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani releases audit accusing federal immigration agents of misleading tactics

Republicans get ‘aggressive’ in fight to win top cop spots in battleground states

Georgetown Cupcake keg-throwing suspect turned in by his own father after recognizing surveillance footage

Trump ties himself to Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart during New York swing

“These arrests mark the culmination of a comprehensive yearlong multi-agency investigation into one of the largest alleged marriage fraud conspiracies ever documented in the Houston area,” Special HSI Agent in Charge Mark Dawson said in a Monday statement. “By working together with our partners from various federal law enforcement agencies, we have sent a resounding message that we are united in our effort to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that seek to circumvent U.S. law by fraudulent means.”

The indictment alleges Ashley Yen Nguyen, 53, was the leader of the criminal scheme and had operatives working throughout Texas and Vietnam.

People involved in the conspiracy allegedly recruited U.S. citizens to act as marriage petitioners, who would then receive a cut of the proceeds from the beneficiary spouses. Several people who were recruited as petitioners eventually became recruiters themselves.

Marriage fraud or conspiracy to commit marriage fraud carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. The other charges — including mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and tampering with a witness, informant or victim — all carry the possibility of 20 years in federal prison. A federal grand jury returned the indictment on April 30.