Massachusetts — Federal authorities have dismantled an alleged marriage-fraud network that operated in Massachusetts for more than a decade and generated at least $6 million, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said Tuesday.
Authorities identified Jennifer González, a U.S. citizen, as the alleged organizer. Investigators say she charged between $38,000 and $40,000 to arrange marriages intended to obtain immigration benefits through fraudulent documents filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Authorities allege González arranged 18 to 20 fraudulent marriages a year. Foley said the $6 million estimate reflects the most conservative calculation of the operation’s revenue during the period under investigation.
Some of the proceeds were allegedly used for businesses and land purchases in the Dominican Republic. Foley said González stated in recorded conversations that she invested available money in new properties there, referring to the country as her own.
In those conversations, she also allegedly said her children enjoyed traveling to the Dominican Republic and that she wanted each of them to have a plot of land when they grew up.
Investigators accuse González of coordinating the marriages and of participating in one herself to help an undocumented foreign national obtain immigration benefits.
Foley also identified Amara Puig, allegedly a secretary for the operation, and Erica Daniels, Charice Alejandro, Jessica Tavares and Jalen Hill as alleged collaborators. Authorities say all are U.S. citizens and received payments from clients.
Court records cited in the report show González had prior convictions in Massachusetts for assault and battery, identity fraud, fraud, breaking and entering without force, possession of burglarious tools and knowingly receiving stolen property.
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