{"id":1433540,"date":"2022-04-12T15:14:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T19:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433540"},"modified":"2022-04-12T15:14:46","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T19:14:46","slug":"eleven-charged-in-u-s-green-card-scheme-after-allegedly-arranging-sham-marriages-for-400-non-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eleven-charged-in-u-s-green-card-scheme-after-allegedly-arranging-sham-marriages-for-400-non-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleven Charged In U.S. Green Card Scheme After Allegedly Arranging \u2018Sham Marriages\u2019 For 400 Non-Citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feleven-charged-in-u-s-green-card-scheme-after-allegedly-arranging-sham-marriages-for-400-non-citizens%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433540&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/04\/Fake-Marriage.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>The Department of Justice announced charges Thursday for 11 individuals in relation to a potential massive green card scheme \u201cthat allegedly arranged hundreds of sham marriages entered into for the primary purpose of circumventing immigration laws.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Marcialito Biol Benitez a 48-year-old Philippines national, \u201coperated what he and others referred to as an \u2018agency\u2019 that arranged hundreds of sham marriages between foreign national \u2018clients\u2019 and United States citizens,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ma\/pr\/eleven-charged-arranging-sham-marriages-and-submitting-fraudulent-green-cards\">DOJ press release<\/a>, <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOne of those foreign national clients resided in Massachusetts. The agency then allegedly prepared and submitted false petitions, applications and other documents to substantiate the sham marriages and secure adjustment of clients\u2019 immigration statuses for a fee of between $20,000 and $30,000 in cash,\u201d the DOJ said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Non-citizens were allegedly coached by Benitez and others on how to properly answer immigration officials\u2019 questions. In many cases, the DOJ says, they even went to great lengths to put on sham marriage ceremonies to use as evidence for officials.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt is the utmost honor and privilege to become an American citizen, and the individuals we arrested today have allegedly made a sham of that process by running a large-scale marriage fraud \u2018agency\u2019 that arranged hundreds of fake marriages for foreign nationals, racking up millions of dollars in profits,\u201d said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Bonavolonta, as well as U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins, also said that the government has reason to believe their actions broke immigration laws while disadvantaging those who are attempting to come to the U.S. legally.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMarriage fraud is a serious crime that threatens the integrity of our nation\u2019s lawful immigration system,\u201d Rollins also said in the press release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThese defendants\u2019 alleged exploitation of this system for profit is an affront to our nation\u2019s tradition of welcoming immigrants and prospective citizens,\u201d Rollins added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The press release also stated that Benetiez and his accomplices are accused of assisting some clients in fraudulently obtaining residency under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) \u201cby claiming the undocumented clients had been abused by alleged American spouses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to the press release, the following were charges in relation to the alleged scheme:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i><span>Marcialito Biol Benitez, a\/k\/a \u201cMars,\u201d 48, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Engilbert Ulan, a\/k\/a \u201cAngel,\u201d 39, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Nino Reyes Valmeo, 45, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Harold Poquita, 30, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Juanita Pacson, 45, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Felipe Capindo David, a\/k\/a \u201cPilipi\u201d or \u201cPeebles,\u201d 49, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Peterson Souza, 34, a Brazilian national residing in Anaheim, Calif.;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Devon Hammer, 26, of Palmdale, Calif.;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Tamia Duckett, 25, of Lancaster, Inglewood and Palmdale, Calif.;<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Karina Santos, 24, of Lancaster, Calif.; and<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span>Casey Loya, 33, of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>These 11 appeared in court last Thursday and will be brought to Boston at a later date,<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcboston.com\/news\/local\/sham-marriages-to-trick-immigration-officials-lead-to-11-indictments-prosecutors-say\/2688705\/\"><span>according<\/span><\/a><span> to NBC 10.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies for breaking news, investigative reporting, sports, podcasts, in-depth analysis, books, and entertainment for a reason: because we believe in what we do. We believe in our country, in the value of truth and the freedom to speak it, and in the right to challenge tyranny wherever we see it. Believe the same?<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"> <i><span>Become a member now and join our mission.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Justice announced charges Thursday for 11 individuals in relation to a potential massive green card scheme \u201cthat allegedly arranged hundreds of sham marriages entered into for the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1433540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}