Crime

Four sentenced in connection to sham ‘agency’ that faked marriages, immigration documents

The “agency,” run by Marcialito Biol Benitez, operated out of offices in Los Angeles and helped at least 600 people change their immigration status through false means.

Staged wedding ceremonies set up by Marcialito Biol Benitez. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

By Emily Spatz

2 minutes to read

Four people based in California have been sentenced for their involvement in an elaborate scheme that coordinated fake marriages between undocumented individuals and U.S. citizens to bypass immigration laws. 

The four defendants are all Philippine nationals living in Los Angeles. They were arrested and charged, along with seven others, with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud in April 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement Tuesday. 

Marcialito Biol Benitez, 50, pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced March 7 to one year and 10 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Juanita Pacson, 48, also pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced March 7 to two years of supervised release with four months home detention. Engilbert Ulan, 43, was sentenced March 6 to three years of supervised release with the first six months in home confinement after pleading guilty in August. Nino Valmeo was sentenced in January to three years of supervised release with the first six months in home confinement.

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Between October 2016 and March 2022, Benitez ran an “agency” that arranged sham marriages and submitted fake immigration documents to the federal government, which allowed at least 600 undocumented individuals to unlawfully change their immigration status, according to the statement by the Attorney’s Office. 

The marriages involved foreign national “clients” of the agency — including at least one person who lived in Massachusetts — and U.S. citizens, who were paid for their participation.

If the U.S. citizens became “unresponsive or uncooperative,” the agency would submit false documents under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that claimed they were being abusive to allow clients to obtain green cards, according to the statement.

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“Specifically, Benitez, Valmeo, and others, would submit fraudulent applications on clients’ behalf for temporary restraining orders against spouses based on fabricated domestic violence allegations,” the statement read. “Benitez’s agency would then submit the restraining order documentation along with immigration petition to [the government], in order to take advantage of VAWA provisions that permit non-citizen victims of spousal abuse to apply for lawful permanent resident status without their spouses’ involvement.”

Benitez’s organization would stage fake wedding ceremonies at chapels, parks, and other locations and take photos of the “couples” in front of prop wedding decorations to submit with immigration petitions, officials said.

The agency operated out of physical offices in Los Angeles, where Ulan and Valmeo were employed and assisted with arranging the marriages and submitting false documents. Other co-conspirators recruited U.S. citizens to marry foreign nationals for payment, according to the Attorney’s Office. 

The fake marriages would cost Benitez’s clients between $20,000 and $35,000 in cash, officials said. 

In addition, the defendants conducted practice interviews and coached the “couples” on how to “conceal the fraudulent nature of the marriages,” according to the statement. 

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“Benitez, Ulan, Pacson, and others, advised clients about creating and maintaining the appearance of legitimate marriage to their spouses,” the Attorney’s Office said. 

Other defendants in the case, including Peterson Souza and Felipe David, were previously sentenced for their involvement in the scheme. 

“Marriage fraud is a serious crime that threatens the integrity of our nation’s lawful immigration system,” former U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a statement in April 2022. “These defendants’ alleged exploitation of this system for profit is an affront to our nation’s tradition of welcoming immigrants and prospective citizens.”

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