The scheme, led by ringleader Marcialito Biol Benitez, circumvented immigration laws by matching undocumented clients with U.S. spouses in phony marriages.
Four Philippine nationals living in Los Angeles have been sentenced in an elaborate $8 million scheme that arranged more than 600 sham marriages to circumvent federal immigration laws Four Philippine nationals living in Los Angeles have been sentenced in federal court for an elaborate $8 million scheme that arranged more than 600 sham marriages, circumvented immigration laws and obtained green cards by falsely claiming undocumented clients were abused by their American spouses.
All four were convicted in 2023 of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. Additionally, several other co-defendants were previously sentenced for their roles in the scam that involved at least one foreign national living in Massachusetts. According to the indictment, the defendants identified prospective foreign national clients for the agency through referrals from prior clients and by word of mouth. One former client referred 25 new clients, primarily from Brazil, to Benitez, who paid about $2,500 for each referral.
The brokers would collect photos of prospective spouses and gather images of their birth certificates, Social Security cards and drivers’ licenses, which Benitez would use in preparing fraudulent marriage and immigration documents. Benitez also filed false tax returns for prospective spouses that would be submitted along with immigration petitions for clients, the affidavit says.
If clients lived outside of California and needed to show residency, Benitez arranged for them to rent physical addresses and mailboxes belonging to Valmeo, Ulan and Pacson as well as other staff, says the indictment.
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