00:00Today we are announcing the arrests and unsealing of an indictment out of the Southern District
00:05of New York, charging 11 individuals for allegedly overseeing an extensive, decade-long
00:13marriage fraud scheme involving more than 1,000 sham marriages between Chinese nationals
00:19and United States citizens, and then the submission of fraudulent applications for green cards.
00:25This is one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history, but we are also preventing
00:32immigration fraud schemes that are just another way to skirt the immigration laws of the United
00:38States. As alleged, some of the charged defendants acted as facilitators who orchestrated the marriage
00:45fraud scheme pairing foreign nationals seeking immigration status with United States citizens
00:53willing to participate and engage in a sham marriage. These facilitators employed attorneys,
01:01tax preparers, and marriage officiants. Some of the other charged defendants acted as recruiters
01:08by finding and recruiting United States citizens to participate in the scheme, and other defendants
01:14officials. And they acted as officiating dozens of these alleged fake marriages.
01:22Now, the way that this scheme allegedly worked is the facilitators used social media and other forms
01:29of advertising to market fraudulent immigration services to foreign nationals, primarily from China, and
01:35Chinese nationals would pay these facilitators as much as $100,000 for assistance in obtaining a marriage, which then
01:44allowed them to apply for a green card. The facilitators also paid willing U.S. citizens as much as $30
01:50,000 to engage
01:52in the sham marriage with the foreign national. Now, often after these phony ceremonies, defendants would stage images of
02:01families at restaurants to create the appearance of a legitimate wedding, and some of the defendants
02:07also facilitated sham marriages overseas in China. After the marriages took place, the actual ceremony, the
02:16then married couples would visit a local office affiliated with the scheme, sign forms for submission to the U.S.
02:23Citizenship and Immigration Services, learn about the USCIS interview process to apply for a green card,
02:31and then execute prenuptial agreements, which, not surprisingly, given the allegation these were sham
02:38marriages, waived their rights to share in the other's estate upon death, child support, and other claims
02:46in marital property. One prenuptial agreement even provided that, and I'm quoting from the indictment,
02:52except in the name of husband and wife, both parties live independently and must not interfere
02:58with each other." End quote. The facilitators of the scheme would then prepare and submit fraudulent
03:04green card applications and work with the couples through the immigration process, submitting photographs,
03:11opening joint bank accounts, mobile phone accounts, all to obtain green cards to allow them to stay in this
03:19country. But that's illegal. These charges and the indictments now unsealed, they show how far people
03:26will go to cheat our immigration system. Gaining American citizenship and legal status to reside in
03:33this great nation is a sacred privilege, and we will ensure it is always done in accordance with the law
03:39of protecting our communities and national security. These schemes have real costs. They rob our country
03:46of its ability to know who should be and should not be allowed in America. And this department and the
03:53Department of Homeland Security will not stand for this, and I think this prosecution and the hard work
03:59that went into it with the agents and the prosecutors show that. Our efforts to protect our immigration system
04:05and our country's borders are aggressive and exhaustive. No matter how complicated the scam, we will do
04:11everything in our power to stop it. Additionally, we've directed the U.S. Attorney's offices around the
04:17country and the Criminal Division here at Maine Justice to work with DHS to prioritize the investigation and
04:23prosecution of birth tourism schemes. We've also directed the Civil Division to prioritize the denaturalization
04:31of naturalized citizens who have obtained citizenship through fraud. Our fantastic lawyers have filed a
04:37record number of complaints, more than 120 at this point, since January 20th, 2025. We are a nation of
04:45borders and sovereignty. The greatness of America is only as strong as our willingness to protect it,
04:52and I am proud to be part of the whole-of-government approach.
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