Till DHS do us part
Considering that the scheme was ongoing since at least 2016, it begs the question: How did the racket survive the notoriously strict enforcement environment under the first Trump administration?
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Considering that the scheme was ongoing since at least 2016, it begs the question: How did the racket survive the notoriously strict enforcement environment under the first Trump administration?
This particular scheme falls under the rubric of “one for the books” — not for its grand audacity but for its sheer stupidity.
In fact, if this were a movie, its title would be “From China with Laug,” with a matching soundtrack, “A Laugh to Last a Lifetime” (courtesy of Mr. Jose Mari Chan).
Let’s take a deep dive to the depths of this gargantuan folly. Per news reports, a massive marriage fraud ring that facilitated thousands of bogus weddings in order to obtain green cards fraudulently was recently busted by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to the indictments, eleven principals were charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, the majority of which were American citizens of Chinese descent. Of the non-American participants almost all were Chinese nationals.
Interestingly, one of the dead giveaways to the fraud, which was in operation since at least 2016, was the fact that some of the parties had prenuptial agreements with a provision that the couple could live independently of each other with separate financial responsibilities.
(How dumb would it be to present this type of evidence if one is trying to prove the genuineness of one’s marriage?)
Apart from the prenuptial agreements, the scheme also employed an elaborate but holistic strategy of staging fake wedding ceremonies in various locations throughout the United States and China, usually in the presence of relatives and friends, with some participants wearing traditional Chinese garb to promote authenticity.
Spurious bank documents and phony insurance policies were also heavily in play, along with fake lease agreements and bogus utility accounts. Manufactured tax returns were also a basic staple of the scam, as well as coached testimonies for the marriage interview.
According to the authorities, a fee of up to $100,000 per case was the norm, about a third of which went to the American spouse. The latter was paid an upfront sum of $10,000, while $15,000 was due upon approval of the conditional green card. The final balance of $5,000 was due upon issuance of the permanent card.
Another $5,000 was allotted to facilitators and recruiters, while a portion of the balance covered the expenses for attorneys, tax preparers, and wedding officiants. The biggest cut went to the masterminds.
While the scheme was based primarily in the state of New York, its recruitment network encompassed a large swath of US and Chinese territories, with some American participants recruited out of a military base in Kentucky.
Considering that the scheme was ongoing since at least 2016, it begs the question: How did the racket survive the notoriously strict enforcement environment under the first Trump administration? In fact, it wasn’t until the second year of the current Trump regime before the proverbial chickens came home to roost, so to speak, in this case.
According to a news article, the scheme was discovered purely by accident, following the interception of a communication in an unrelated case. If this was the case, perhaps the principals were not as simple-minded as they appeared to be, the farcical prenups notwithstanding.
Regardless of the state of mind of the masterminds, one thing is certain: “Till DHS do us part” will forever be etched in the hearts and minds of the sham wedding participants.
