Posted on 07/04/2007 11:41:18 AM PDT by GATOR NAVY
NORFOLK
Federal authorities are investigating a local marriage broker who has been linked to sham nuptials between U.S. citizens and Eastern Europeans seeking a better life here.
The broker favored Navy sailors for spouses because of the pay and housing benefits involved. Officials say the sailors' involvement has created a potential national security threat.
Prosecutors have charged at least nine individuals in an ongoing investigation into illegal immigrants attempting to obtain citizenship through marriage. Three were in court Monday.
Not every case is connected to the broker, who has not yet been publicly identified, but at least four of the defendants are linked to the broker, according to court records and interviews. In the past several months, an undercover federal agent posing as a Navy sailor infiltrated the broker's inner circle to arrange marriages.
On Wednesday, the undercover agent and a Russian national, Yulia Kroshmeva, were "married" in a phony civil ceremony at Norfolk Circuit Court. She had taken the train from New Jersey that day.
As part of the deal, Kroshmeva was to pay the "groom" $6,000 before the ceremony and $2,000 after meeting with
immigration officials to secure papers allowing her to remain in the country legally, according to court records. She also asked for a military identification card, a joint bank account and a joint cell phone account to make the marriage look real, the papers say.
(Excerpt) Read more at content.hamptonroads.com ...
They better be swabbing decks for a long, long time.
As part of the deal, Kroshmeva was to pay the "groom" $6,000 before the ceremony and $2,000 after meeting with immigration officials to secure papers allowing her to remain in the country legally, according to court records.This is a lot of risk for a very small pay off. Was there sex involved too?
I suggest they go to Massachusetts and arrange homosexual marriages for those wanting to marry American citizens. Then there would be no problem because they could get Lambda Legal and the ACLU on their side.
Perhaps it isn’t fraud, just a language problem. Do they speak English? If not we need to get Ted Kennedy’s opinion before we yell “fraud”. Also, failure to recognize these “sham” marriages will have an adverse affect on “gay marriages”. If these are a “sham”, then where are we headed? We need diversity and all marriages should be diverse or multiple! Galloping monogamy is great, too. What about bigamy and polyandry? Ooops, whoa! Am I on the right web site?
But the rederal governement does not recognize “homosexual marriages”. The Defense of Marriage Act prohibits the federal government from recognizing them and allows the states to not recognize “homosexual marriages” registered in other states.
If they were illegals, the authorities wouldn’t even check into it.
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