Not So ‘Happily Ever After’

‘Eternal bliss’ ended today for 30 people arrested in a million dollar marriage-for-hire scam.

This morning agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made over twenty arrests in four states in what DHS officials are calling a sophisticated marriage-for-hire ring.  Sham marriages and false documents were forged for a price between $8,000 and $16,000 to make it look as if immigrants were already married to Americans.  Immigrants  would  be one step closer to getting green cards and other benefits.  Officials say as many as 1,000 people participated in the ring, which netted more than a million dollars in illegal prceeds. Among those charged in an indictment unsealed in federal court today is a former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service employee, alleged ringleader Phillip Browne of Brooklyn and Florida.  Browne, who is now in custody, allegedly approved green card applications for illegal immigrants.  The charges include visa fraud and money laundering. According to a Department of Homeland Security official, this is the first major case for the agency’s "Document and Benefit Task Force" which was created in April to combat document and benefit fraud. The task force reaches across the country with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles New York Newark, Philadelphia and St. Paul.