June 24, 2008

ICE arrests fourth family member of Florida marriage fraud ring
Defendants face up to 20 years in prison

MIAMI - A 38-year-old man was arrested here today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents for his alleged involvement in a marriage fraud ring operating in the Miami area. Jesus Rubin Rodriguez is the fourth person arrested in connection with the marriage fraud joint investigation by ICE, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), Miami Dade Office of the Inspector General, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. Allegedly, Rubin Rodriguez, a Cuban national from Hialeah, Fla., married four women for profit and never filed for divorce. The women paid Rodriguez as much as $15,000 to marry them so that they could fraudulently obtain immigration benefits by circumventing immigration laws. He was charged with four counts of bigamy.

Jesus Rubin Rodriguez' niece, Eunice Lopez, 26, of Hialeah, Fla., was arrested Dec. 12, and charged with nine counts of bigamy. Additionally, the boyfriend of Eunice Lopez, Rodneys Gonzalez, 33, was arrested on Jan. 12, and charged with three counts of bigamy. Allegedly, Eunice Lopez married ten men over a three-year period. Gonzalez was charged with marrying four women for profit. The women paid Gonzalez as much as $15,000 to marry them so that they could obtain a lawful status in the country.

Jesus Rubin Rodriguez's sister, Eunice Rodriguez, 46, also from Hialeah, Fla., was arrested and charged with three counts of bigamy on June 9, following an investigation that revealed that she too was involved in marriage fraud and allegedly married four men in a seven-month period without divorcing any of them.

"This case highlights ICE's commitment to working with other law enforcement partners to protect both the integrity of our immigration system and our national security," said Anthony Mangione, ICE special agent-in-charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Miami. "Marriage fraud poses a serious threat to national security and public safety. These schemes create a vulnerability that may enable terrorists, criminals and illegal aliens to gain entry to and remain in the United States. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that these criminals are brought to justice."

All defendants face up to five years in prison per count. Their cases are still pending before the courts

This case was part of ICE's Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF). The DBFTF was created in March 2006, to target, seize illicit proceeds of and dismantle the criminal organizations that threaten national security and public safety and address the vulnerabilities that currently exist in the immigration process. Through DBFTFs, ICE partners with other agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of State and various state and local law enforcement agencies. These task forces focus their efforts on detecting, deterring and disrupting both benefit fraud and document fraud.
-- ICE --

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases ... 4miami.htm