The Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against a group of 11 people who were allegedly tied to a decade-long marriage fraud network allegedly involving more than 1,000 sham unions.

The two-count indictment charged the individuals with conspiring, over the course of more than a decade, to orchestrate more than 1,000 fake marriages to fraudulently obtain immigration status for foreign nationals, primarily Chinese citizens. Some individuals paid up to $100,000 per sham marriage.

The network, which ran from at least 2016 through July 2026, was based in New York City but functioned nationally and arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals and United States citizens. 

The foreign nationals paid up to $100,000 for the fake marriage and American citizens tied to the scheme were paid $30,000 for their roles. Recruiters were paid as much as $5,000 for each citizen that agreed.

“This Department of Justice is rooting out fraud everywhere — including in our immigration system,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “The individuals who were arrested today allegedly orchestrated elaborate schemes to illegally obtain citizenship for foreign nationals through sham marriages. Schemes like this are a deliberate affront to the United States and our laws and will not be tolerated under the Trump Administration.”

The defendants have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, which, if convicted, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. 

They were also charged with one count of conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.