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| Ghanaians Arrested For Sham Marriages |
9/8/2006 |
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Authorities arrested 19 people - mostly Ghanaians - Thursday after uncovering a scheme that arranged as many as 1,000 phony marriages in northern Virginia between U.S. citizens seeking cash and illegal immigrants seeking green cards.
Many of those who were married never met until they showed up at the courthouse to apply for their marriage license, said U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg.
"We don''t normally take an opinion on matters of the heart, but it''s safe to say in this case that we do not believe in love at first sight," Rosenberg said.
The arrests came after a three-year investigation. In all, 22 people were charged, and 19 have so far been arrested, authorities said.
Among those charged were "facilitators" who brokered the marriages for fees ranging from $2,500 to $6,000, illegal immigrants who wanted a marriage as a way to obtain permanent residency, and U.S. citizens who received initial payments of $500 plus monthly installments totaling up to $3,600 for participating, authorities said.
Authorities say most of the people involved in the scheme were from Ghana and were seeking permanent U.S. residency. Rosenberg says it is likely people went to Virginia because there is no waiting period to get married.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Gregory Cichetti said in an affidavit that the loosely affiliated enterprise resulted in at least 500 phony marriages, going back as far as 2002, but the number was more likely about 1,000.
In their investigation, authorities said, they found that the facilitators coached couples on the questions customs agents might ask to verify the marriage''s legitimacy, such as what side of the bed each slept on. The facilitators would also help immigrants obtain bank records and utility bills to convince customs agents of a bona fide marriage.
The charges include immigration fraud and marriage fraud, punishable by 10 years and 5 years in prison, respectively. Additional charges are likely, Rosenberg said.
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