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.

EXCLUSIVE: Epstein emails to be released as DOJ says no criminal or inappropriate conduct by Trump

Reporter’s Notebook: Senate funding deal hits snag as Graham presses sanctuary city vote

Watch: Trump’s Hilariously Honest Response to Reports He Fell Asleep During the Last Cabinet Meeting

Texas Issues Disaster Declaration as Flesh-Eating Parasite Spreads North from Mexico

Federal agents arrest 3 more people in connection to Minnesota church storming

Accused US killer captured in Mexico after monthslong international manhunt for recycling bin murder

Damning Video: Trump Plays Elizabeth Warren’s Eulogy for Alex Pretti Over Footage of Pretti Wildly Attacking ICE, Destroying Property – the Result Is Truly Blistering

Ilhan Omar Has Bizarre Response When Questioned About What She Did After Being Sprayed by Vinegar

Federal judge backs away from threat to hold ICE leader in contempt

Trump and GOP eye midterm convention cities in high-stakes bid to hold House, Senate

Trump officials work to ease tensions in Minneapolis as secretive negotiations progress

Who’s turning up for oil rig work in post-Maduro Venezuela

Trump administration military strikes against drug cartels in Mexico would carry risks

Explosion at metal fabricating plant leaves at least 4 people injured in Pennsylvania

AOC voices support for anti-ICE shutdown, declines to participate

“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.