Posted 12:27 PM
Updated 20 mins ago

Former Maine legislator pleads guilty to immigration fraud

Adam Mack, a Republican representative from 1997 to 2000, arranged a work visa and sham marriage for a Russian national, prosecutors say.

BY DAVID HENCH STAFF WRITER
dhench@pressherald.com | @MaineHenchman | 207-791-6327

A former state legislator pleaded guilty Monday to immigration fraud for his role in a scheme to allow Russian nationals to stay in this country illegally, including arranging a sham wedding.

Adam Mack, 39, of Portland, faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on two charges of aiding and abetting visa fraud and up to five years and a $250,000 on three charges of aiding and abetting marriage fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty II’s office.

Adam Mack, a former Maine legislator, pleaded guilty to immigration fraud. 2000 Press Herald File Photo/John Ewing


Mack, a Republican who represented Standish from 1997 to 2000, previously was convicted of misusing federal funds in connection with a property management company he owned. Mack is on supervised release in connection with the earlier conviction but the immigration fraud predated his other conviction.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Mack filed paperwork between 2009 and 2011 with the federal government saying two Russian women worked for him when they didn’t. The documents were used to obtain visas for the women allowing them to remain and work in this country.

Mack also helped arrange a fake marriage in Cape Elizabeth between Mariia Shevchenko and Christopher Segal, who was paid by Shevchenko. Mack helped the couple prepare for their interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, but during the interview, Segal confessed that the wedding was a sham, according to court papers filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee.

Authorities executed a search warrant on Mack’s home on May 22, 2014, and found evidence of the fraud on his home computers.

Mack will be sentenced after a presentence investigation report is prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

This story will be updated.

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/03/3...gration-fraud/