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.

Jasmine Crockett uses Trump’s ‘Low IQ’ insults to launch her Texas Senate campaign in debut ad

Trump cabinet members do pull-ups at airport to launch $1B family travel program nationwide

Trump threatens 5% tariff on Mexico over water treaty violations affecting Texas farmers

Thune eyes possibility of ‘serious’ Obamacare talks once Democratic bill fails

Watch: Is This Is a Touchdown? ‘Clear As Mud’ Rules Trigger NFL Controversy

Top GOP senator says Crockett announcement exposes how ‘radical’ Dems are nationwide

Indiana redistricting bill clears committee in victory for Trump, heading to full Senate vote

Family sues Royal Caribbean after man allegedly served 33 drinks dies aboard cruise ship

DeSantis Drops the Hammer on Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR: ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

Kelsey Grammer Defies All of Hollywood, Goes on Record with Glowing Review of Trump

Watch: Jasmine Crockett’s Utterly Bizarre Campaign Kickoff Video Is Nothing but Trump Insulting Her Non-Stop for 45 Seconds

Florida mom says teens ‘lured’ 14-year-old daughter into woods before shooting, setting her on fire: report

Trump complains he can’t ‘appoint anybody’ after Habba resigns as acting US attorney

Hollywood star reveals what he thinks of potential Newsom presidency with two-word response

Supreme Court Appears Likely to Issue Historic Ruling in Favor of Trump in FTC Commissioner Case

“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.