Federal officials say that the sham marriages took place primarily in Maryland.
U.S. immigration officials announced on Monday that they had disrupted a marriage fraud operation in Maryland, and four people have been indicted.
The investigation began in April 2022, when officials determined that Zuran, Sigal, and Tkach were arranging the phony marriages. The three were paid thousands of dollars for “facilitating introductions to U.S. citizens and coordinating sham weddings,” officials said.
Zuran, Sigal, and Tkach also “arranged for the preparation of false immigration forms, including fake health status attestations, in connection with applications for immigration benefits,” according to ICE.
Hopper was alleged to have encouraged several U.S. citizens to partake in fraudulent marriages with foreign nationals for financial gain, officials said. In return, she received compensation for recruiting women in Baltimore and in other areas to participate in fraudulent marriages.
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“Some marriages are made in heaven. Some are just made up,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement. “Our work with ICE crushed a marriage fraud ring where U.S. citizens were paid to marry aliens. Under [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, fraudsters are walking out in handcuffs. Buying a spouse doesn’t make you a citizen.”
Meanwhile, ICE and other federal officials separately arrested 10 people on April 24, and the “individuals involved have had their immigration benefits revoked as part of this investigation,” the statement said.
“Marriage fraud is not a victimless crime—it compromises the integrity of our immigration system, diverts critical resources, and erodes public trust in a process that countless individuals follow legally and in good faith,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy said in a statement.
“These arrests mark a critical milestone in our broader effort to dismantle a criminal network that has sought to undermine our nation’s immigration laws. HSI remains committed to safeguarding the lawful immigration process and holding accountable those who seek to exploit it.”
Trial dates for the four suspects have not yet been scheduled. If convicted, they could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
President Donald Trump issued three executive orders related to immigration. The first calls for the attorney general to identify cities and states failing to comply with federal immigration laws, the second concerns protections for law enforcement officers, and the third has to do with English literacy for commercial truck drivers.
Since January, the administration has launched an aggressive enforcement campaign, deploying troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of criminal aliens. Trump, who made illegal immigration a major campaign issue in 2024, said the actions were needed after years of high unlawful immigration under his Democratic predecessor, President Joe Biden.
Contact information for the four defendants’ attorneys was not immediately available as of Tuesday.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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