Thread: Former Maine state representative sentenced to federal prison for immigration fraud

I.C.E. News Release

DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD

10/07/2015

Former Maine state representative sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for immigration fraud

PORTLAND, Maine — A former State Representative was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to 13 months in prison for visa and marriage fraud.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Adam Mack, 39, (R) of Portland, Maine, was sentenced to 13 months in prison on multiple counts of aiding and abetting visa and marriage fraud and making false statements. Mack previously pleaded guilty on March 30, 2015.

Mack has a prior 2013 federal conviction for equity skimming in connection with a property management company he owned. As a result of violating the terms of his supervised release from that case, he was also ordered to serve an additional four months in prison, to be served consecutively with today’s sentence. Mack represented a district near Portland, Maine, from 1998 to 2000.

“It's always sad to see a former public servant fall so far from the path of public service,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Etre of HSI Boston. “But today's sentencing shows that no matter who you are, what position in the community you've held or what influence you thought you had, we will not hesitate to bring you to justice. HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to stop marriage and visa fraud.”

According to court records, between October 2009 and January 2012, Mack unlawfully assisted foreign nationals seeking to become U.S. permanent residents by engaging in marriage and visa fraud. He also made false statements regarding his employment of these individuals to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

In imposing sentence, U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby said, “You have been cheating the system all along consistently. It's the deterrence, both general and specific, and just punishment that I think are critical.”

Mack’s prison sentence will be followed by three years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/fo...igration-fraud

Posted March 31
Updated March 31

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 women from Russia and Ukraine to stay in the U.S. illegally, and arranging a sham green card 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 fine on charges of aiding and abetting marriage fraud and making false statements to a government agency, 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 1998 to 2000, previously was convicted of misusing federal funds in connection with a property management company he owned. He was ordered to serve six months in prison and repay $384,000 in restitution to the federal government. That fine contributed to his filing in December for bankruptcy protection.

Mack now is on supervised release in connection with the earlier conviction but the immigration fraud predated his other conviction so he was not charged with violating conditions of his release.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Mack filed paperwork between 2009 and 2011 with the federal government saying a woman from Russia and another from Ukraine 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 one of the women, Mariia Shevchenko, and Christopher Segal, who was paid by Shevchenko. The court papers do not say how much Segal was to receive, though he did receive one installment of $800.

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.

Court records do not indicate what gain Mack received from the arrangement.

A telephone message left at Mack’s listed telephone number in Standish was not returned.

In his two terms in the Legislature, Mack sponsored several pieces of legislation, including replacing the graduated income tax with a flat tax, eliminating funding for the Family Planning Association of Maine and prohibiting felons from voting, all of them unsuccessful.

He also sponsored a bill to allow a referendum on Frye Island’s secession from Standish, which passed the Legislature and won voter approval.

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.

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