Four people have been charged in Massachusetts with running a “large-scale” marriage fraud agency that targeted illegal immigrants, authorities said.
Four Filipinos living in Los Angeles were arrested on charges of marriage fraud and immigration fraud after conducting “hundreds of sham marriages” between illegal immigrants, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Authorities say 50-year-old Marcialito Viol Benitez operated the agency from a brick-and-mortar office in Los Angeles from October 2016 to March 2022.
Benitez’s fraudulent marriage and adjustment of his client’s immigration status cost him between $20,000 and $35,000 in cash, according to his law firm.
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Four Filipinos set up a fraudulent business to arrange fraudulent marriages between illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens. (U.S. Regional Bureau, Massachusetts)
Mr. Benitez recruited other co-conspirators and solicited Americans to marry clients of his agency in exchange for compensation.
The district attorney’s office said it staged fake weddings in locations such as parks and houses of worship and used online officiants.
Officials said many of their clients take photos of undocumented clients or citizen spouses in front of wedding props to later submit on immigration applications.
Photos from the U.S. Attorney’s Office showed an arranged marriage taking place.
scam wedding (U.S. Regional Bureau, Massachusetts)
Mr. Benitez’s business also helped immigrants make their fake marriages to nationals appear legitimate.
The 50-year-old helped the fake spouses practice interviews in order to pass the required interviews with immigration authorities.
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Authorities alleged that the business orchestrated fraudulent marriages and “evaded” U.S. immigration laws by claiming that immigrants had been abused by their American spouses.
The law firm says this typically happens when the immigrant’s fake spouse becomes unresponsive or uncooperative.
Mr. Marcialito Viol Benitez directs the business. (U.S. Regional Bureau, Massachusetts)
In March 2024, Mr. Benitez and his co-conspirators were indicted in April 2022 on charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud, according to the statement.
Benitez was sentenced on March 7 by U.S. District Judge Dennis Casper to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Mr. Benitez pleaded guilty in September 2023.
Juanita Paxson, 48, was also sentenced by Casper on March 7 to two years of supervised release, the first four months of which will be home detention, after pleading guilty in September 2023.
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Engilberto Uran, 43, was sentenced by Casper on March 6 to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Mr. Uran was convicted by a federal jury in November 2023.
On January 11, Nino Balmeo, 47, was sentenced by Casper to three years of supervised release, with the first six months on home confinement, after pleading guilty in August 2023.
