Texas woman organizes 40 fake marriages of immigrants and US citizens

A 55-year-old woman pleaded guilty to at least 40 fictitious marriages in order to obtain permanent resident status. For such services, foreigners were charged an amount of up to $ 70 thousand. This is stated in the message on the page US Department of Justice.

Photo: Shutterstock

The head of the group was Ashley Yen Nguyen, also known as Duyen. She admitted that she ran a criminal organization in the southwest area of ​​Houston, Texas, but her associates worked throughout the state and in Vietnam. She has confessed to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, immigration fraud, money laundering, and false tax filing.

Sometimes Nguyen falsely presented herself as a lawyer. She also admitted to organizing at least 40 fictitious marriages, in which Vietnamese citizens paid $ 50 to $ 70 thousand to find a spouse in the United States in order to fraudulently obtain legal permanent resident status. Nguyen made payments of about $ 200 to those US citizens who were involved in fraudulent immigration procedures.

Nguyen admitted that the fictitious spouses did not live together and did not intend to live together, contrary to documents and statements presented to the federal authorities. At her direction, the spouses met briefly, immediately before obtaining a marriage license, or did not meet at all. The couple married under a financial agreement with the primary purpose of circumventing US immigration laws.

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The criminal organization even prepared and provided fake wedding photo albums to give the impression that they were having a wedding ceremony. Under the arrangement, the group also provided the authorities with fabricated documents, including information on taxes, utilities, and employment, to help its clients obtain entry and residence permits in the country.

To prepare the fake spouses for interviews with immigration authorities, Nguyen and her criminal organization provided the fake spouses with fabricated facts to study and retell the details to give the impression that the couple lives together and are familiar with each other's daily habits.

Nguyen bought several houses with the proceeds of crime. She used them as part of a scheme to collect, distribute the proceeds and provide them at a time when the authorities warned that they would conduct an inspection. The rooms were designed to look like they belonged to fictitious spouses. The investigation revealed about 500 fictitious marriages in addition to those that appear in the indictment.

Nguyen pleaded guilty to three counts of her role in running a marriage fraud scheme, as well as false statements on tax returns and conspiracy to launder money.

She faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $ 250.

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