měi guó美国diào chá调查dà xíng大型jiǎ jié hūn假结婚àn jiàn案件
The U.S. Department of Justice has arrested 11 residents of New York State.
They are suspected of organizing a sham-marriage network.
Over about ten years, the network arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages, mainly helping Chinese citizens apply for U.S. green cards.
The organizers looked for foreign clients and recruited U.S. citizens, having the two sides meet and obtain marriage licenses right away.
They also arranged fake weddings, took photos, prepared documents, and coached the “couples” on how to answer questions from immigration authorities.
Each foreign client had to pay about 100,000 U.S. dollars, while U.S. citizens taking part in the sham marriages could receive up to 30,000 dollars.
Prosecutors said the network may have received tens of millions of dollars in total.
If convicted, the defendants could face up to five or ten years in prison.
However, the indictment currently only contains accusations. Until a court finds them guilty, the defendants are still considered innocent.