00:01Good afternoon. Today we are announcing the arrests and unsealing of an indictment out
00:08of the Southern District of New York, charging 11 individuals for allegedly overseeing an
00:14extensive decade-long marriage fraud scheme involving more than 1,000 sham marriages between
00:21Chinese nationals and United States citizens.
00:44This is one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history. This scheme was not
00:50a quick fly-by-night operation but rather a years-long multi-million dollar cottage industry
00:57to criminally assist people who would not or legally could not otherwise become citizens
01:04of the United States. The men and women who facilitated this scheme were all naturalized
01:10citizens originally from China and one green card holder. Now the way that this scheme allegedly
01:16worked is the facilitators used social media and other forms of advertising to market fraudulent
01:22immigration services to foreign nationals primarily from China and Chinese nationals would pay these
01:28facilitators as much as $100,000 for assistance in obtaining a marriage which then allowed them to
01:36apply for a green card. The facilitators also paid willing U.S. citizens as much as $30,000
01:42to engage in the sham marriage with the foreign national. The facilitators of the scheme would
01:47then prepare and submit fraudulent green card applications and work with the couples through
01:52the immigration process, submitting photographs, opening joint bank accounts, mobile phone accounts,
01:59all to obtain green cards to allow them to stay in this country. But that's illegal.
02:07These charges and the indictments now unsealed, they show how far people will go to cheat our
02:12immigration system. Gaining American citizenship and legal status to reside in this great nation
02:18is a sacred privilege and we will ensure it is always done in accordance with the law protecting our
02:24communities and national security. All right, thanks a lot everybody. Have a good day.
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