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.

Kohberger prosecutors say no as Idaho killer tries to boot judge who called him a ‘faceless coward’

Op-Ed from Iranian Kurd: Handing Iraqi Kurdistan to Tehran Would Be a Big Mistake

Jim Jordan Sums Up Progressive Platform in Scathing Takedown: ‘The Left Hates 2 Countries – America and Israel’

Severe turbulence diverts New York City flight to Miami, 8 injured

Could Trump play hardball to prevent an MLB lockout?

Trump cuts $810 million in federal spending he previously approved

Kathy Hochul counts on Mamdani to rev reelection turnout despite GOP attacks

Dem Congressional Candidate Claims She Was Raped While Repairing Campaign Signs and Hid from Her Husband for Days

US Attorney calls out ‘loud-mouth’ California Dems as feds step in with Skid Row drug bust: ‘They’re lunatics’

The powerful way American communities can benefit from the new tech boom revealed by data center CEO

WNBA Suffers Immediate Downturn After Caitlin Clark Is Eliminated from Playoffs

Schumer says he’s not going anywhere, but his own candidates aren’t ready to back him

Mamdani demands Trump release illegal immigrant shot by ICE agent as protests erupt in the Bronx

Personal attacks, Israel, and terrorism define Michigan’s caustic Senate debate

ABC News Targets Trump Family, But Has to Immediately Delete False Story – Was Off by Billions of Dollars

“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.