Massachusetts Woman Accused of Arranging Sham Marriages
A woman from Massachusetts is facing allegations from the Department of Justice for allegedly setting up fake marriages to assist clients in obtaining green cards and U.S. citizenship.
Jennifer Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, reportedly charged clients up to $40,000 for each marriage and is said to have organized as many as 20 such arrangements annually over the past decade, according to Leah Foley, the U.S. attorney for the Massachusetts District.
Authorities indicated that Gonzalez’s female employees, who also face charges, were the ones marrying men seeking legal status in the U.S.
Foley mentioned during a news conference at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston that “this conspiracy netted her $6 million during the course of the alleged scam.” She also remarked that Gonzalez boasted about using her ill-gotten gains to invest in businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic, which she often referred to as “my country.”
It seems that Gonzalez provided details about her operations to a cooperating witness believed to be an illegal immigrant. Foley noted that Gonzalez claimed Massachusetts was “so special” since it is a sanctuary state where “illegal aliens get a lot of help as an immigrant.”
Furthermore, Gonzalez allegedly intended to give her children pieces of land in the Dominican Republic for them to own in the future.
Foley stated, “Miss Gonzalez got rich off selling the American dream, all the while investing her money in another country.”
According to Gonzalez, she halted the sham marriages at the end of 2024 because she anticipated President Donald Trump’s return to office. She eventually ceased operations entirely in 2025 due to what she perceived as increased immigration enforcement, as noted by Foley.
Prosecutors labeled Gonzalez as the “ringleader,” although there were others involved in the scheme. Her secretary, Amara Pugh, along with Jessica Tavares, Erica Daniels, and Jaylin Hill, were also accused of marrying Gonzalez’s clients for payment. Additionally, Gonzalez reportedly entered into a sham marriage herself with an undocumented immigrant.
Court records included photographs from at least two wedding ceremonies. In most instances, the female participants remained married to the illegal immigrants for several years, divorced them, and then got married again to other illegal immigrants within as little as a month after their divorces, officials reiterated.
Foley further disclosed that part of the alleged fraud involved Gonzalez applying for and receiving SNAP benefits from 2019 through 2026, amassing over $124,000 during that period. She failed to report her income from the sham marriage business and did not list anyone in her household, including the illegal alien she married or the father of her children, whom she called her husband.
Gonzalez, Pugh, Tavares, and two other co-conspirators were taken into custody on Wednesday morning, while Hill is already incarcerated for a separate gun offense.
