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.

Federal judge blocks Alabama redistricting plan in blow to Trump

Markwayne Mullin goes off on Dems’ ‘garbage’ Memorial Day ‘political stunt’ at ICE facility

Alex Murdaugh trial clerk reemerges after explosive ruling upends murder conviction

Chicago sees at least 25 shot over Memorial Day weekend as police cancel officers’ days off

Sports Commentator Blasts Giants QB for Meeting Trump Without ‘Consulting’ Locker Room

Iran Claims to Have Shot Down a US Drone, Threatens Further Retaliation

Trump will head to Walter Reed for his annual physical

Hasan Piker names pro-CCP tycoon Singham as financier of ‘political movements’ despite nonprofit veneer

Massie positions himself for potential political future after primary defeat: ‘I won’t be going away silently’

Trump-backed candidates score major boost from deep-pocketed AI Super PAC in upcoming primaries

How AIPAC’s spending strategy evolved, to the dread of anti-Israel Democrats and Republican detractors

Tulsi Gabbard honors wish of Gold Star wife to visit husband’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery

Trump flexes MAGA muscle in Texas Senate runoff clash between Cornyn and Paxton

Skydiver dies after midair collision with another jumper during group jump in Washington state

Dog accidentally fires shotgun, striking woman yards away during chaotic gas station stop

“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.