6 Pinoys charged in US for marriage fraud

MANILA, Philippines — Six Filipinos based in Los Angeles were among the 11 individuals who were recently charged in the United States for allegedly arranging sham marriages and submitting fraudulent “green card” applications.

The US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced last Thursday (Friday in Manila) the filing of charges against those involved in the alleged operation of a marriage fraud “agency” that circumvented immigration laws.

Indicted for conspiracy to commit marriage and immigration document fraud were Filipinos Marcialito Biol Benitez, Engilbert Ulan, Nino Reyes Valmeo, Harold Poquita, Juanita Pacson and Felipe Capindo David.

Also charged were Brazilian national Peterson Souza and Americans Devon Hammer, Tamia Duckett, Karina Santos and Casey Loya.

Benitez allegedly operated the agency that organized at least 400 sham marriages between foreign national clients and US citizens between 2016 to 2022, according to the indictment.

The agency then prepared and submitted false petitions, applications and other documents to substantiate the sham marriages and secure adjustment of the clients’ immigration statuses for a fee of between $20,000 and $30,000 in cash.

The indictment alleged that Valmeo, Ulan, Poquita and Pacson assisted with arranging marriages as well as submitting fraudulent marriage and immigration documents, including false tax returns.

Hammer, Duckett, Santos and Loya allegedly served as “brokers” who recruited US citizens willing to marry the agency’s clients in exchange for an upfront fee and monthly payments from the client spouses following the marriage, while Souza and Capindo David allegedly referred prospective foreign national clients for a commission of around $2,000 per referral.

After pairing foreign national clients with citizen spouses, Benitez and his staff allegedly staged fake wedding ceremonies and submitted fraudulent, marriage-based immigration petitions to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency responsible for granting lawful permanent resident status.

The clients and their spouses were supposedly coached prior to the interviews and were advised about maintaining the appearance of legitimate marriage.

In some cases, the agency also assisted some clients, usually those whose spouses became unresponsive or uncooperative, with obtaining “green cards” under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by claiming that the foreign nationals were abused by their American spouses.

“Specifically, the agency would allegedly submit fraudulent applications on clients’ behalf for temporary restraining orders against spouses based on fabricated domestic violence allegations,” the US Attorney’s Office said in its statement.

“Benitez and his co-conspirators would then allegedly submit the restraining order documentation along with immigration petitions to USCIS, in order to take advantage of VAWA provisions that permit non-citizen victims of spousal abuse to apply for lawful permanent resident status without their spouses’ involvement,” it added.

Benitez and seven of the other suspects were arrested in relation to the indictment, US authorities said.

“Marriage fraud is a serious crime that threatens the integrity of our nation’s lawful immigration system. These defendants’ alleged exploitation of this system for profit is an affront to our nation’s tradition of welcoming immigrants and prospective citizens,” US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael Rollins said.

“Their alleged fraudulent behavior makes things harder for the vast majority of immigrants who follow the law and respect our immigration system. Beyond that, by allegedly submitting false applications that claimed domestic abuse, these charged defendants did further harm, this time to real victims and survivors of domestic violence,” Rollins added.

Those convicted for charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud may be sentenced to up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.