Green cards for sale: Feds bust another sham-marriage ring as prices hit $100,000 per arrangement

Federal prosecutors in Boston on Wednesday charged six people with running an alleged decade-long sham-marriage ring, with illegal immigrants purportedly paying between $38,000 to $40,000 per wedding to gain legal status.

Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, Mass., allegedly ran the business, collecting money from illegal immigrants to arrange sham marriages so they could obtain immigration status, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts announced this week. Court documents allege that Gonzalez paid four U.S. citizens – Erica Daniels, 29; Chreise Alejandro, 39; Jessica Tavares, 31; and Jaylin Hill, 26 – to marry one or more illegal immigrant “customers.” Amara Pugh, 31, another U.S. citizen, allegedly worked as the “secretary” for the sham-marriage business, federal officials said. Those arrested have not entered pleas, yet.

A local television station said Gonzalez's neighbors were shocked, and never suspected anything out of the ordinary. "You wonder why so many people come and go, I never thought it would be that," one neighbor told WJAR.

Prosecutors say Gonzalez caught on tape: "This state defends us very much" 

Gonzalez’s immigration status is unknown, but she allegedly has extensive ties to the Dominican Republic and the resources to flee, prosecutors said in court documents labeling her a flight risk. The alleged marriage-scam business allegedly brought hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for Gonzalez and her accomplices. She also applied for and received approximately $124,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the time she allegedly ran the sham-marriage ring, according to the federal government.

Court documents also referred to video and audio recordings of Gonzalez discussing the sham marriages with clients and why Massachusetts is a good place to conduct the scam.

“…I believe that you can, okay, because this state is a sanctuary, like Trump doesn't like this state because the government from here, the state defends us very much,” she said in one recording, according to prosecutors.

“Massachusetts is the best place for you to be. That is a fact,” she said in another.

Gonzalez allegedly conducted around 20 sham marriages a year for 10 years.

Facing up to 30 years in prison, $1 million in fines

The individuals were charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants, harboring illegal immigrants, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, and marriage fraud. They each face up to 30 years in prison, with years of supervised release after, and fines of up to $1 million if sentenced to the maximum on all four counts.

The case in Massachusetts is the latest in a run of federal marriage-fraud prosecutions. In August, New York prosecutors charged 11 people alleged to form a network that allegedly arranged more than 1,000 fake marriages, with some involving active-duty soldiers. Court records show a common playbook: A broker pairs clients with paid U.S. citizens, stages the ceremonies, coaches couples for immigration interviews, fills out fraudulent paperwork, and helps illegal immigrants file that paperwork with federal authorities.

These brokers can charge tens of thousands of dollars for their services and have historically received very little jail time. In the New York case, 11 individuals were charged with orchestrating more than 1,000 sham marriages over a decade, primarily for Chinese citizens, with some illegal immigrants paying up to $100,000 for one sham marriage, the Department of Justice announced at the time.

“This Department of Justice is rooting out fraud everywhere — including in our immigration system,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said when the charges were filed. “The individuals who were arrested today allegedly orchestrated elaborate schemes to illegally obtain citizenship for foreign nationals through sham marriages. Schemes like this are a deliberate affront to the United States and our laws and will not be tolerated under the Trump Administration.”

Like the Massachusetts ring, the New York sham-marriage organization provided fake wedding pictures, coached illegal immigrants on how to speak with immigration officials, and filed paperwork.

Despite arrests, little time served in sham-marriage cases

In Jacksonville, Fla., earlier this year, another 11 individuals were federally indicted for pairing Chinese nationals with U.S. Navy sailors for sham marriages to illegally obtain immigration status, Fox 13 News reported at the time. In that case, a Navy reservist is accused of trying to bribe a personnel office employee to issue unauthorized Department of Defense ID cards. Following the bribery attempt, a sting operation was launched in February 2025 and the reservist was arrested, along with other members of the Navy.

A sham-marriage ring in California broken up in 2022 only resulted in 22 months in prison for its ringleader, Marcialito Benitez. Benitez and 10 others were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. The group is alleged to have charged $20,000 to $30,000 for each sham wedding, the DOJ announced. In March 2024, four of the conspirators, including Benitez, were sentenced.

Benitez received 22 months in jail, Juanita Pacson was sentenced to two years of supervised release, Engilbert Ulan received 14 months in prison, and Nino Valmeo was sentenced to three years of supervised release. All had pleaded guilty, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported at the time.

Benitez and his ring would help some clients file for green cards by falsely claiming abuse at the hands of their spouse using the Violence Against Women Act, which permits noncitizens claiming spousal abuse to apply for lawful permanent resident status without their spouse knowing. That bill was sponsored by then-Senator Joe Biden, representing Delaware, and a reconciled version was signed into law on Sept. 13, 1994 by President Bill Clinton.

The U.S. government is currently investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for what appears to be her own marriage fraud scheme. Omar allegedly married her brother while still filing joint taxes with her first husband in order to get her brother a green card.