Feds Say They've Uncovered a Marriage Fraud Ring

Federal prosecutors say a decade-long scheme in Massachusetts involving sham marriages netted some $6 million in profit. On Wednesday, US Attorney Leah Foley announced charges against six people; five are in federal custody and one is serving time on a firearms charge. NBC News reports prosecutors allege ringleader Jennifer Gonzalez, a US citizen living in Fall River, charged $38,000 to $40,000 per fake marriage and arranged up to 20 of them a year in order to help immigrants obtain legal status. Gonzalez allegedly paid the other five to take part in the marriages, with several of them marrying multiple times. The AP reports none of the immigrants who entered into the marriages have been charged.

"Ms. Gonzalez got rich off selling the American Dream all the while investing her money in another country," Foley said, detailing how the 43-year-old allegedly used profits from the marriage fraud ring to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic. Foley said Gonzalez ran "a very sophisticated operation" that likely would have continued had someone not tipped off the feds.