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.

New Jersey governor, Democratic senator spend Memorial Day protesting ICE facility

Sex Trafficking: More Disastrous Graham Platner Comments Surface as Dem Buyers Regret Reaches New High

Hollywood Ignored the ‘Project Hail Mary’ Blueprint as ‘Star Wars’ Stumbles and Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ Looks Headed for Trouble

Tim Walz’ Gun-Control Bill Goes Down In Flames Despite Dems’ Sit-In Protest

Rubio pushes back on India’s concerns over US visa curbs, says policy must be ‘America First’ under Trump

Parents Revolt After College Tries Surveillance Experiment On Kids, Report Shows

Vets torch Dem Senate hopeful who called Army ‘fat, lazy trash,’ mocked soldier shot four times

Omar confronted on camera over GOP proposal targeting foreign-born lawmakers: ‘Good luck to her’

UFO insider claims US has bodies of 4 different alien species from downed spacecraft in government custody

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Marine vet prosecutor refuses to cross constitutional line on Spanberger ‘assault weapon’ ban

GOP senators spurn anti-weaponization fund payout for phone data seizure: ‘I don’t need any compensation’

Operation Benjamin: Restoring fallen soldiers’ lost Stars of David

Baby pulled from vehicle trapped in raging floodwaters in dramatic rescue caught on video

Teen sailor killed aboard USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor identified after 82 years through DNA analysis

Stampede erupts at South Carolina biker festival, 19 injured in late-night chaos

“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.