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.

Reporter’s Notebook: Congress dodged a fall shutdown, but the real fight looms

British authorities arrest dual national on suspicion of ‘preparation of terrorist acts’ in RAF Fairford case

Breaking: Execution of TN Woman Goes Bad: 2 Lethal Injections Leave Subject Snoring, Very Much Alive

Indian Flydubai pilot ‘recovering well’ in hospital: Ambassador

California governor debate turns into Trump-Newsom proxy war

10 Democrat-held House seats Republicans could flip to save their majority

Trump’s new high-tech government hub holds some bizarre surprises: ‘Enjoy finding them’

Breaking: Israel Says Hijacker ‘Underwent Islamist Radical Indoctrination’ Before Trying to Crash Plane of Jews

Trump handing 1 million Americans Obamacare refund checks in 30 states

National Guard deployment tallies up $49 million in food costs alone

Man Who Took Explosives to Mass for SCOTUS Justices Gets Mindboggling Sentence Thanks to Obama Judge

Loyal dog fetches police to help owner who fell at Kansas home

Sotomayor denies mom’s bid to get son into elite NYC school amid racial discrimination fight

Ranchers are furious about diesel prices and beef imports. Could it cost Republicans a Senate seat in Kansas?

Biden DOJ Senior Prosecutor Hit with Criminal Referral Amid ‘Troubling if True’ Allegations

“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.