Dawson County couple sentenced for phony marriage
by Ben Schwartz (North Platte Bulletin) - 12/23/2009

A Dawson County couple’s phony marriage earned them both sentences in Federal Court Dec. 15.

The office of United States Attorney Deborah Gilg reported that Armando Orozco-Sanchez, 43, of Lexington, received six months imprisonment and three years of supervised release for marriage fraud and fraud and misuse of immigration documents.

Rosa Banda, 54, of Cozad, received five years probation for the same charges. She must spend four months on house arrest as part of the probation. Banda also was fined $5000 and tagged with $200 in special assessments.

Each had faced up to 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Orozco-Sanchez wanted to evade immigration laws, so he offered to pay Banda to marry him. She agreed, and the couple wed in Nov. 2004. One month later, they submitted falsified documents to the government so Ozosco-Sanchez could apply to remain in the United States.

In fact, the couple did not live together.

They were both convicted in federal court Sept. 25, 2009 after having been arrested in June.

http://www.northplattebulletin.com/inde ... 9&pageID=3