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.

‘Squad’ rakes in record $2.35M while slamming the door on cop donations

Haley Stevens appears alongside GOP rival Mike Rogers at Detroit church

Revealing Detail Found Buried in ‘Ilhan Omar’ Memoir: She Was Taught at a Young Age to Lie About Her Family

Tech Titan Blasted for Using AI to Come up With 3 Things That Makes Her Daughter Special on Her 10th Birthday

Wyoming mom reported missing after not picking up kids; sister, police search for answers

Watch: YouTuber Separates Conjoined Turtle Twins, Ends with ‘Heartbreaking’ Result

Cops raid West Virginia frat houses in hazing probe as growing crackdown should be ‘wake-up call’: expert

Unexpected State with Dem Governor Is Ranked the Freest in America: Study

Americans forced to change clocks again as Senate stalls Trump-backed daylight saving time bill

Everything to know about House and Senate control, ballot measures and 2026 Election Day poll closing

Future of MAHA and anti-abortion policy hinges on Roger Marshall’s election chances

‘Free Instacart for Welfare Queens’: California Begins Sending Out Luxury Food Boxes at Taxpayers’ Expense

California Mayor Allegedly Followed, Harassed, Blocked Car of Random Man She Thought Was ICE

Chuck Klosterman’s ‘Rock*’ is an exercise in fantastical pointlessness

Skilled trades now offer direct path to six-figure pay without college debt thanks to emerging tech industry

“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.