COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Prosecutors say seven people have pleaded guilty to arranging sham marriages in South Carolina so people from Brazil could try to become American citizens.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Crick said in a news release that the people trying to become U.S. citizens paid more than $20,000 to marry people in America legally.
Crick says only one marriage happened before investigators cracked the ring, and that person will have her citizenship automatically revoked after pleading guilty to procuring citizenship unlawfully.
The other six suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. They face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on the felony charge at a later date.
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