A Los Angeles man helped coach fake couples, including at least one from Massachusetts, through interviews with immigration authorities to get green cards.
Engilbert Ulan, 42, was convicted of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. He is one of 10 defendants to be convicted in this case, with nine of his co-defendants having pleaded guilty.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office said Ulan helped with an agency out of Los Angeles that submitted fraudulent immigration documents and performed sham marriages for at least 600 clients between October 2016 and March 2022, including at least one person in Massachusetts.
People would pay between $20,000 to $35,000 in cash, officials said.
The agency would pair foreign national clients with citizen “spouses,” who were paid. They would then stage fake wedding ceremonies at chapels, parks and other locations. This included a hired online officiant and photos with prop wedding decorations, such as “just married” signs. They’d also coach clients and the spouses through interviews with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and “advised clients about maintaining the appearance of legitimate marriage to their spouses.”
They’d then submit marriage-based immigration petitions to USCIS on their behalf.
However, if the paid spouses became unresponsive or uncooperative, officials said the agency would apply to obtain green cards under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which allows non-citizen victims of spousal abuse to apply for lawful permanent resident status without their spouses’ involvement.
They’d claim the undocumented clients had been abused by the American spouses and would submit fraudulent applications on clients’ behalf for temporary restraining orders against spouses based on “fabricated domestic violence allegations.”
The restraining order along with immigration petitions would be submitted to USCIS.
Ulan also helped people create fake supporting documents submitted as “evidence” of the marriage’s legitimacy. And he rented out the use of his apartment address to clients who lived outside of Los Angeles so they could list his address as their own on green card applications and related documents, “to make it appear to immigration authorities that they were living with their sham spouses in the Los Angeles area,” officials said.
Ulan would receive extra money for referring new clients to the agency, officials said.
“Mr. Ulan and his co-conspirators broke immigration laws that are in place to protect public safety and created an unfair disadvantage for those seeking to earn their citizenship lawfully,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI, Boston Division.
The charge of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Ulan is scheduled to be sentenced March 6, 2024.
