Nearly 100 people indicted, 50 currently in custody in massive Houston-based marriage fraud conspiracy

HOUSTON — Fifty people are now in law enforcement custody following last week’s return of a 206-count indictment criminally charging 96 people for their alleged roles in a large-scale marriage fraud scheme.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Houston.

A federal grand jury returned the massive indictment April 30, 2019. The indictment remains sealed for those charged but not yet in law enforcement custody.

“These arrests mark the culmination of a comprehensive yearlong multi-agency investigation into one of the largest alleged marriage fraud conspiracies ever documented in the Houston area,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson, HSI Houston. “By working together with our partners from various federal law enforcement agencies, we have sent a resounding message that we are united in our effort to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that seek to circumvent U.S. law by fraudulent means.”

This investigation targeted a suspected criminal organization allegedly operating a large-scale marriage fraud scheme to create sham marriages to illegally obtain admission and immigrant status for aliens in the United States.

The indictment further alleges Ashley Yen Nguyen, aka Duyen, 53, of Houston, headed the Southwest Houston-based organization and had associates operating throughout Texas and the Republic of Vietnam.

“Marriage fraud is a serious crime,” said District Director Tony Bryson, USCIS Houston. “This indictment reveals how successful our working relationships are with our law enforcement and intelligence partners when it comes to investigating marriage fraud. USCIS remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring national security, public safety and the integrity of the immigration system.”

Individuals enter into sham marriages primarily to circumvent U.S. immigration laws. The indictment alleges the marriages involved in this conspiracy were shams because the spouses did not live together and did not intend to do so, contrary to the official documents and statements they submitted to USCIS. The spouses only met briefly, usually immediately before they obtained their marriage license, or not at all.

>According to the criminal charges, each beneficiary spouse entered into an agreement with Duyen in which they paid about $50,000 to $70,000 to obtain full U.S. permanent resident status. The agreements were allegedly prorated in that they would pay an additional amount for each immigration benefit they received, such as admission into the United States, conditional U.S. permanent resident status and full U.S. permanent resident status.

In addition, Duyen and others allegedly recruited other U.S. citizens to act as petitioners in the sham marriages who received a portion of the proceeds received from the beneficiary spouses. Several individuals who were recruited as petitioners soon afterwards became recruiters themselves. Others were also allegedly in charge of receiving the proceeds from the beneficiary spouses and disbursing the payments to the petitioners.

The indictment also charges several individuals to act as guides for U.S. citizen petitioners who allegedly travelled to Vietnam under the guise they were going to meet his/her fiancée/fiancé. In truth, according to the indictment, they were beneficiary spouses paying the criminal organization to circumvent U.S. law.

This criminal organization also allegedly prepared fake wedding albums which were provided to the petitioner and beneficiary spouse that included photographs to make it appear as if they had a wedding ceremony above and beyond a simple courthouse marriage. The indictment further alleges the criminal organization provided false tax, utility and employment information to help ensure USCIS would approve the false immigration forms.

Full Article SOURCE

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/nearly-100-people-indicted-50-currently-custody-massive-houston-based-marriage-fraud#wcm-survey-target-id

Chuck Schumer SCREAMING MAD over Trump’s legal move (victory!)

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was left reeling by the news that President Donald Trump is on the verge of converting the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals into a conservative majority — and he did it by outmanuevering Schumer politically.

And Trump did it in Schumer’s own backyard.

Now, Schumer wants the mainstream media to know just how mad he is that Trump didn’t play ball.

Judges Joseph Bianco and Michael Park were both confirmed by the Senate last week, putting Trump within striking distance of flipping the appeals court to a conservative majority. Bianco and Park were Trump’s second and third nominees to be confirmed to the appeals court, and with two remaining vacancies needed to be filled, Trump will likely fill the court with a conservative majority for the first time in decades.

The 2nd circuit court covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. Because it’s jurisdiction includes Manhattan — and notably, Wall Street — the court often rules on corporate and securities law.

Schumer complained to the mainstream media that Trump’s nominees were “stooges” for conservative legal networks.

Schumer did everything he could to stop the Trump nominees, so Trump went ahead without him.

“Schumer and [New York Sen.] Kirsten Gillibrand withheld so-called blue slips for Bianco and Park,” The Daily Caller reported. “Under past Senate convention, the Senate Judiciary Committee would not convene a confirmation hearing until senators return an opinion on a judicial nominee selected for a court in their state.”

Park’s confirmation left conservative legal experts cheering.

“Park’s conservative bona fides run deep. A graduate of Yale Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during his time on the Third Circuit,” The New York Law Journal reported. “He also served during the Bush administration as an attorney-adviser in the DOJ’s office of legal counsel before joining Dechert in 2012 as partner.”

Bianco’s confirmation was also well received by legal experts.

“Joseph Bianco has a proven track record of fairly applying the law and adhering to the Constitution,” Carrie Severino of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network told The Daily Caller. “I enthusiastically applaud the Senate for confirming him and am confident he will be an exceptional judge on the 2nd Circuit.”

SOURCE

https://thehornnews.com/chuck-schumer-screaming-mad-over-trumps-legal-move-victory/