HAPPILY EVER AFTER ... IN THE U.S.

Feds ring alleged conspirators in ‘sham wedding’ scam

The only wedding present clients of a Los Angelesbased wedding “agency” wanted were fresh green cards.

Eleven alleged conspirators were indicted Thursday on charges related to marriage and immigration fraud for running what the feds described as a business dedicated to arranging “sham marriages” to fraudulently apply for permanent residency in the United States. Eight of those people were arrested in LA.

At least one client was a Massachusetts resident, though Joseph Bonavolonta, the special agent in charge of the Boston FBI office, added at a press conference Thursday afternoon that investigators have found at least three Bay State residents embroiled in the alleged scam.

The Boston FBI uncovered the alleged scheme when initial evidence allegedly came up while agents were investigating another, undisclosed case.

“These weddings were not love stories,” said Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins. “This isn’t the movie ‘The Proposal’ … these individuals committed multiple frauds on the United States government with the explicit goal of circumventing immigration laws.”

Rollins described the business allegedly run by Marcialito Biol Benitez, 48, a Philippine national living in LA who went by “Mars” — at Career Ad Management LLC — as a “a one-stopshop” for immigration fraud.

The agency is alleged to have recruited U.S. citizens — often homeless women, Bonavolonta added — to marry foreign nationals seeking a quick route to permanent residency and possible future citizenship, sometimes on the day after they first meet.

Rollins said that the foreign clients would pay $20,000 to $30,000, which means that at minimum the

roughly 400 alleged clients forked over $8 million to the business.

The money allegedly went toward monthly payments to the “citizen spouses,” who were tasked with keeping up the image of marital bliss through the green card process, as well as to coconspirators who recruited the clients, authorities said.

If the citizen spouses “got cold feet,” Rollins said, the conspirators had a backup plan: file restraining orders against them alleging domestic violence and exploit a loophole in the Violence Against Women Act to gain residency anyway.

The business also allegedly posed the newly betrothed for photos with typical wedding prop accouterments: images show photos of “couples” kissing under flower-lined wedding arches and holding “Just married” signs.

Rollins also said that the agency would allegedly train the pairs for “immigration interviews designed to ferret out the very frauds we have charged them with today,” such as romantic

tales on how they first met.

“These defendants’ alleged exploitation of this system for profit is an affront to our nation’s tradition of welcoming immigrants and prospective citizens,” Rollins said in a statement. “Their alleged fraudulent behavior makes things harder for the vast majority of immigrants who follow the law and respect our immigration system.”

Indicted:

■ Marcialito “Mars” Biol Benitez, 48, a Philippine national living in LA: alleged leader of the business

■ Engilbert “Angel” Ulan, 39, a Philippine national living in LA: alleged co-conspirator with undefined role

■ Nino Reyes Valmeo, 45, a Philippine national living in LA: alleged co-conspirator with undefined role

■ Harold Poquita, 30, a Philippine national living in LA: alleged co-conspirator with undefined role

■ Juanita Pacson, 45, a Philippine national living in LA: alleged co-conspirator with undefined role

■ Felipe Capindo David, 49, a Philippine national living in LA: alleged foreign national recruiter

■ Peterson Souza, 34, a Brazilian national living in Anaheim, Calif.: alleged foreign national recruiter

■ Devon Hammer, 26, of Palmdale, Calif.: alleged citizen spouse “broker”

■ Tamia Duckett, 25, of Lancaster, Inglewood and Palmdale, Calif.: alleged citizen spouse “broker”

■ Karina Santos, 24, of Lancaster, Calif.: alleged citizen spouse “broker”

■ Casey Loya, 33, of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif.: alleged citizen spouse “broker”

FederAl court Filing CARD’S IN THE MAIL: Marcialito ‘Mars’ Biol Benitez, right, meets with clients at his business in Los Angeles. He was indicted with 10 others as co-conspirators in a scheme to stage sham weddings for paying clients to become permanent residents of the U.S.

NAncy lAne / HerAld stAFF MR. AND MRS. WRONG: Foreign national clients and citizen spouses pose for photos, on display by the feds as charges are announced, in weddings the feds say are shams designed to manipulate immigration law and acquire green cards.