Four people sentenced for running ‘large-scale’ marriage fraud scam to get green cards for hundreds

Four people were sentenced in federal court in Boston for their roles in running a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” that arranged hundreds of “sham marriages” to circumvent immigration laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

This included, among other things, obtaining green cards under the Violence Against Women Act by claiming falsely that the undocumented clients had been abused by American spouses, prosecutors said.

Among the agency’s clients was a foreign national living in Massachusetts, Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy’s Office said in a statement. The “agency” arranged sham marriages and submitted fraudulent immigration documents for at least 600 clients between October 2016 and March 2022.

All four people earlier convicted of the crime are Philippine nationals and Los Angeles residents. They were arrested and charged along with seven others with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud in April 2022, the statement said.

Marcialito Biol Benitez, a/k/a “Mars,” 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper on March 7 to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Benitez pleaded guilty in September 2023.

Juanita Pacson, 48, was also sentenced by Casper on March 7 to two years of supervised release with the first four months on home detention after previously pleading guilty in September 2023.

Engilbert Ulan, 43, was sentenced by Casper on March 6 to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Ulan was convicted by a federal jury in November 2023.

On Jan. 11, Nino Valmeo, 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.

Benitez, with the help of the others convicted, ran what he and others referred to as an “agency” that arranged hundreds of sham marriages between foreign national “clients” and U.S. citizens, including at least one foreign national who resided in Massachusetts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said.

The agency then prepared and submitted false petitions, applications and other documents to substantiate the sham marriages and secure adjustment of clients’ immigration statuses for a fee of between $20,000 and $35,000 in cash, the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said.

Benitez ran the agency out of brick-and-mortar offices in Los Angeles, where he employed Ulan and Valmeo as staff, prosecutors said. Ulan and Valmeo helped with arranging marriages and submitting fraudulent marriage and immigration documents for the agency’s clients.

Benitez “relied on several other co-conspirators to recruit U.S. citizens to marry the agency’s clients in exchange for payment,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said.

“After pairing foreign national clients with citizen spouses, Benitez’s agency staged fake wedding ceremonies at chapels, parks and other locations, performed by hired online officiants,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said.

Pacson, a friend who worked at one of the chapels, assisted with sham wedding ceremonies and marriage documents, prosecutors said. For many clients, the agency would take photos of undocumented clients and citizen spouses in front of prop wedding decorations for later submission with immigration petitions, prosecutors said.

Benitez’s agency then submitted fraudulent, marriage-based immigration petitions to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency responsible for granting lawful permanent resident status, the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said. Benitez, Ulan, Pacson, and others advised clients about creating and maintaining the appearance of legitimate marriage to their spouses.

“Ulan conducted practice interviews with the agency’s clients and their fake spouses for the purpose of preparing couples to pass required interviews with immigration authorities,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said. “He coached the sham couples to provide the same fabricated answers to questions posed during green card interviews and conceal the fraudulent nature of the marriages.”

Benitez, Ulan, Valmeo, and Pacson assisted clients with preparing fraudulent supporting documents submitted as “evidence” of the marriages’ legitimacy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said. Ulan, Valmeo and Pacson also rented the use of their apartment addresses to clients who lived outside of Los Angeles so those clients could list these addresses as their own on green card applications and related documents, to make it appear to immigration authorities that they were living with their sham spouses in the Los Angeles area.

Ulan and Valmeo also received cash commissions for referring new clients to the agency, according to prosecutors.

Benitez’s agency would assist certain clients – typically those whose spouses became unresponsive or uncooperative – with obtaining green cards under the Violence Against Women Act by claiming the undocumented clients had been abused by alleged American spouses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said.

“Specifically, Benitez, Valmeo, and others, would submit fraudulent applications on clients’ behalf for temporary restraining orders against spouses based on fabricated domestic violence allegations,” the statement said. “Benitez’s agency would then submit the restraining order documentation along with immigration petitions to USCIS, in order to take advantage of VAWA provisions that permit non-citizen victims of spousal abuse to apply for lawful permanent resident status without their spouses’ involvement.”

Several others convicted in the scheme were previously sentenced by Casper, officials said.

Peterson Souza, who referred non-citizens to the agency for a fee, was sentenced to five months in prison and three years of supervised release with the first five months on home detention, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Felipe David, who referred clients to the agency for assistance with Violence Against Women Act-based applications, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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