By Lucretia Hughes Klucken
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has charged 11 people in an alleged decade-long immigration fraud operation accused of arranging more than 1,000 sham marriages, primarily between Chinese nationals and American citizens seeking a payday.
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the arrests Wednesday, describing the operation as one of the largest marriage-fraud prosecutions in United States history.
Federal prosecutors allege the New York-based organization operated across several states and collected tens of millions of dollars by selling fraudulent pathways to lawful permanent residency.
“This scheme was not a quick, fly-by-night operation, but rather a yearslong, multimillion-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States,” Blanche said.
According to the Justice Department, foreign nationals — primarily citizens of China — paid facilitators as much as $100,000 to be matched with American citizens willing to participate in fake marriages.
The American participants were allegedly paid as much as $30,000, while recruiters could receive thousands of dollars for finding additional citizens willing to take part.
The indictment says the organization did much more than introduce strangers and send them to a courthouse. Prosecutors allege the defendants constructed elaborate false relationships intended to deceive U.S. immigration officials.
Fake wedding ceremonies were staged. Couples wore wedding clothes, posed for photographs and sometimes gathered with pretend family members at restaurants to create the appearance of a legitimate celebration.
The couples allegedly opened joint bank accounts, obtained shared cellphone plans and signed documents designed to make their relationships appear authentic.
They were then reportedly coached on how to answer questions during interviews with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Some participants allegedly signed prenuptial agreements immediately after the ceremonies, waiving claims to marital property, child support and each other’s estates. One agreement reportedly acknowledged that the couple would be husband and wife in name only while continuing to live independently.
That is not marriage. That is a business transaction designed to defraud the American people and violate our immigration laws.
The alleged operation began around 2016 and extended beyond New York into Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. Prosecutors said the network also operated in China and the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
Ten of the 11 defendants were reportedly naturalized American citizens from China. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The indictment also raises serious national-security questions because some Chinese nationals were allegedly paired with active-duty members of the U.S. military.
Court documents reportedly identify at least 14 sham marriages involving American service members. Eleven of those service members were stationed at an Army installation in Kentucky between May 2023 and August 2025.
Blanche said espionage was not alleged in the current indictment, but the investigation remains underway. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division is among the agencies involved.
That distinction is important, but it does not eliminate the security concern.
When foreign nationals can allegedly purchase access to American residency by marrying members of our military, the government must determine who entered the country, where they went, what information they obtained and whether any posed a threat to the United States.
A green card is not a wedding favor. American citizenship is not merchandise, and lawful permanent residency should never be sold to the highest bidder.
Millions of people follow the law, complete the required paperwork, undergo background checks and wait for an opportunity to build a life in America. Every fraudulent application pushes an honest applicant further back and weakens the integrity of the entire immigration system.
The case also exposes the Americans who allegedly sold their participation. If the accusations are proven, those citizens knowingly helped foreign nationals deceive their own government in exchange for money.
They were not victims of an immigration loophole. They were alleged participants in a calculated criminal enterprise.
The newly unsealed indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration-document fraud, along with conspiracy to encourage or induce foreign nationals to unlawfully reside in the United States.
Marriage fraud can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Fraudulently obtained green cards can also be revoked, potentially resulting in removal from the country.
The Trump administration has promised an aggressive crackdown on immigration fraud, including schemes involving sham marriages and so-called birth tourism.
This prosecution demonstrates why enforcement cannot stop at the southern border. Immigration fraud also happens through attorneys’ offices, staged wedding ceremonies, fraudulent applications and criminal organizations willing to manufacture an entire false life for the right price.
Every green card connected to this alleged operation should be reviewed. Every fraudulent marriage should be investigated. Every participant who knowingly broke the law should be held accountable, regardless of citizenship, profession or military connection.
America is a generous nation, but generosity without enforcement becomes an invitation for exploitation.
Our borders matter. Our laws matter. Citizenship matters.
The Justice Department deserves credit for dismantling this alleged operation, but the investigation cannot end with 11 defendants. More than 1,000 marriages involve far more than 11 people.
Now investigators must follow every document, every payment and every fraudulent application until the full network is exposed.
The charges contained in an indictment are allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lucretia Hughes Klucken is the host of Real News with Lucretia Hughes. Follow her reporting, broadcasts, books and mission at linktr.ee/lucretiahughes.
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