Thread: VA (Virginia Beach) 33 charged with sham marriages

33 charged with sham marriages for benefits
Posted to: Military
Named in indictments this week

Grooms:

Jesse James Albert Bice, 23, of Richland, N.Y.

Jesse S. Costillo, 25, of Chesapeake

Thomas A. Crampton, 24, of Norfolk

Joseph P. Freese, 22, currently on the Iwo Jima

Joseph R. Hagen, 26, of Cincinnati

Thomas A. Harris, 24, of Virginia Beach

Jason C. Jarvela, 24, of Lakewood, Ohio

Benjamin J. Lampkin, 25, of Norfolk

Adam D. Leichliter, 24, of Greensburg, Pa.

Colt Shane McCloud, 21, currently on the Wasp

Nathaniel A. Reed II, 23, currently on the Iwo Jima

Matthew R. Saiz, 22, of Norfolk

Martin L. Santimaw, age unavailable, of Chesapeake

Christopher R. Souto, 22, of Norfolk

Samuel J. Strasbaugh, 21, currently on the Wasp

Tristan C. Tucker, 21, currently on the Iwo Jima

Michael L. Wolfe, 25, of Greenup, Ky.

Brides*:

Ruta Antanaviciute, 26, of Virginia Beach, native of Lithuania

Anastasia Borzenko, 23, of Duluth, Ga., native of Russia

Narjiss Bounkhoul, 25, of Virginia Beach, native of Morocco

Nataliya V. Chorna, 24, of Virginia Beach, native of Ukraine

Liliya K. Dautova, 22, of Virginia Beach, native of Russia

Dariya D. Dushulina, 21, of Brooklyn, N.Y., native of Russia

Lioudmila Gardeitchik, 28, of Norfolk, native of Belarus

Natalia Kavaleva, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., native of Belarus

Irina S. Kuziminova, 25, of Astoria, N.Y., native of Russia

Natalia E. Lukina, 25, of Greenup, Ky., native of Russia

Ekaterina Mazurova, 22, of Los Angeles, native of Russia

Aygyul R. Mustafina, 23, of Centereach, N.Y., native of Russia

Evgenia I. Pershina, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y., native of Russia

Tatsiana V. Smuraha, 22, of Virginia Beach, native of Belarus

Alena Tacovska, 26, of Nashville, Tenn., native of Slovakia

Natalya V. Yablokova, 24, of Astoria, N.Y., native of Russia

*There is one less bride because one woman became a cooperating witness for the government.

By Tim McGlone
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 17, 2008

NORFOLK

Federal authorities have combed through eight states since early Wednesday morning, arresting suspects in a sweeping investigation into fraudulent marriages between Navy sailors and illegal immigrants.

Three indictments unsealed Wednesday afternoon charge 33 people - current and former sailors and their brides. Thirteen defendants appeared in U.S. District Court as federal agents searched seven other states for the remaining suspects.

"Each of you is charged with a serious offense," U.S. Magistrate James E. Bradberry told five of the women standing before him.

"This is not something you can afford to take lightly, because your freedom will be at stake," he said.

Federal authorities have been targeting bogus marriages and Navy housing fraud for at least two years, having already arrested at least 40 other individuals here and in New York.

This is the largest one-time sweep, and Navy officials said they hope this puts an end to the practice. More than 73 people have been arrested so far, with dozens convicted, jailed or deported.

"There are specific approved procedures to obtain citizenship in our country. Cheating is not one of them," U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said in a statement scheduled to be released this morning and obtained by The Virginian-Pilot on Wednesday.

The arrangement benefits both bride and groom. The brides, here illegally, get the fast track to green cards and, possibly, citizenship. The sailors get an increase in their housing allowances, plus payments ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 from their brides.

Authorities say they also have national-security concerns: The illegal immigrant could be seeking to cause harm. With the dozens of brides arrested so far, no such threat has been uncovered.

Word of the scheme spread through Norfolk Naval Station over the past several years. Sailors learned they could take home thousands more a year in housing allowances if they married, according to court papers. The Navy said the scheme has cost taxpayers more than $225,000.

Samuel G. Worth, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Norfolk office, said he believes such marriage and housing scams actually cost taxpayers millions each year.

"The message from these arrests should be quite clear - any Navy personnel who engage in this kind of criminal activity will be pursued and held accountable," Worth said in the statement.

Most of the brides are from Eastern Europe and came here on short-term student or visitor visas. The court papers say the marriages were never consummated.

Many of the women have ties to each other, according to the court records.

When Valeriya Tsymbal, a Ukrainian national, was arrested last October on marriage fraud charges, three friends showed up in court to support her. Those three have since been indicted on their own marriage fraud charges. Two of the friends, Tatsiana V. Smuraha, 22, and Nataliya V. Chorna, 24, were arrested Wednesday in the latest case. The third was arrested in January.

Besides charges of marriage fraud and filing phony immigration papers, Smuraha was charged with witness tampering and obstruction of justice for trying to get Tsymbal's husband to testify at her trial that their marriage was legitimate, according to the indictment. Tsymbal ended up pleading guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison.

Smuraha also is accused of trying to cover up the alleged crime.

After learning of the investigation through Tsymbal, Smuraha asked her husband, Samuel J. Strasbaugh, to move in with her to make their marriage look legitimate in case the authorities came knocking, according to the indictment. Strasbaugh allegedly agreed, with the condition that his girlfriend move in as well. Strasbaugh is stationed on the amphibious assault ship Wasp.

He and seven other current and former sailors also were arrested Wednesday, though some turned themselves in, and appeared before Bradberry. Other sailors in the case are stationed aboard the Iwo Jima, another amphibious assault ship.

In all, 16 women were charged in the indictment.

Citing their questionable immigration status, Bradberry ordered the five women detained pending bond hearings on Monday. All of the men were released except one, who has a criminal record.

Other arrests were being made in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and California. Authorities said some of the suspects fled Hampton Roads upon learning they were targets of the investigation.

An attorney for one of the sailors declined to comment after Wednesday's proceedings. Most of the others did not yet have counsel.

One attorney representing a defendant in a related marriage fraud case questioned the government's methods in tackling the problem.

Evgenia A. Popravka of Ukraine, who previously had been indicted, was arraigned earlier in the day Wednesday on charges of entering into a bogus marriage with Mark. T. Vanhorn in 2005.

Vanhorn was slain outside a nightclub near Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach in January 2007. He was an innocent bystander in a gunbattle.

Stephen P. Patrizio, a Philadelphia attorney representing Popravka, said he doesn't understand all the effort being put into jailing illegal immigrants in marriage fraud cases when they will end up being deported anyway.

"I think there's a whole lot of other things that need more attention," he said.

He said his client plans to fight the charges.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com


http://hamptonroads.com/2008/04/33-char ... s-benefits

Can you say 'national security threat'?
I can.

Originally Posted by PhredE

Can you say 'national security threat'?
I can.

I agree!

National security has nothing to do with it at all. If the ICE can prove that the marriage is a scam to get a pink card then they can go to court. (It is not a green card it is pink in color.) Problem is that the State Department is handing out visas and fiance visas all over the world and how do they know who is really in love and who is not? Half of the ILLEGALS in the US already came here on a legal visa and overstayed the time limit.

BTW IF Homosexual marriage is ever legalized fully, a homosexual American citizen will be able to get a LEGAL visa, resident or fiance, for his or her same sex foreign lover just as a heterosexual can right now. How is the State Department going to know who is really in love and who is not when the couple is faking HOMOSEXUAL! Something to think about......I am surprised the State Department has not been sued over this already?

Originally Posted by alipacdude

How is the State Department going to know who is really in love and who is not when the couple is faking HOMOSEXUAL! Something to think about......I am surprised the State Department has not been sued over this already?

Only way is to have one State Dept Guys kiss the couple and see if they giggle

I would like to know how the 'brides' and 'grooms' came in contact with each other initially.
There must be some type of organization 'recruiting' the grooms and, other than greed for money, why concentrate on men in the military if not an issue of national security?
The majority of brides are from Eastern Europe.....hmmmmmmm

After learning of the investigation through Tsymbal, Smuraha asked her husband, Samuel J. Strasbaugh, to move in with her to make their marriage look legitimate in case the authorities came knocking, according to the indictment. Strasbaugh allegedly agreed, with the condition that his girlfriend move in as well. Strasbaugh is stationed on the amphibious assault ship Wasp.

The sailors get an increase in their housing allowances, plus payments ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 from their brides.

If Samuel J. Strasbaugh wanted an increase in housing allowance, why didn't he marry his girl-friend?
$1,000 to $6,000 payment isn't that much when one factors in the cost of a divorce.
There has to be more to this than what appears on the surface.

Also, don't the 'brides' get a monthly allotment from the service as the wife of a serviceman?

A small leak can sink a great ship.
Benjamin Franklin

Stephen P. Patrizio, a Philadelphia attorney representing Popravka, said he doesn't understand all the effort being put into jailing illegal immigrants in marriage fraud cases when they will end up being deported anyway.

Talk about lax law when it comes to Illegals....
This guy should have his license revoked.

MyAmerica
The only way wives of service men get an allotment is for the husband to apply for one and he names the amount. That money comes out of his pay check.

Shad wrote:

The only way wives of service men get an allotment is for the husband to apply for one and he names the amount. That money comes out of his pay check.

Thanks Shad, I didn't know how that worked.

Prosecutors: U.S. sailors' marriages a scam

From Deborah Feyerick
CNN

Story Highlights
Eastern European women are accused of marrying sailors to stay in U.S.

Sailors receive marriage benefits they ware not entitled to, court papers said

Investigators say sailors were in on the scam that cost Navy about $500,000

Some brides issued military ID cards, exposing security risk, said investigator


NEW YORK, New York (CNN) -- It was a scam involving green cards and greed, prosecutors said Thursday.


Federal authorities have arrested 33 couples and charged them with marriage fraud.

Dozens of young Eastern European women have been accused of marrying U.S. sailors not for love but for the right to stay in the United States. The sailors received marriage benefits they were not entitled to, court papers said.

In recent days, federal authorities have arrested 33 couples in eight states, including New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, and charged them with marriage fraud.

One woman taken into custody Wednesday by U.S. marshals in Queens, New York, was found in an apartment with her boyfriend. Handcuffed and put into a police car, she denied the charge, saying, "It's not an illegal marriage."

Agents with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service said the sailors were in on the scam, which ultimately cost the Navy about $500,000. Watch a report on the investigation »

"What we see are small pockets of friends forming this conspiracy," said Samuel Worth, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service in Norfolk, Virginia.

The sailors, based at Naval Station Norfolk, are said to have met the women at bars and restaurants in nearby Virginia Beach or were set up by Navy buddies.

In some cases, documents show, the couples married within hours of meeting.

"I don't know if they targeted sailors, but they did meet them, befriended them, and a verbal contract was formed," said Deputy Chief Jim Cervera of the Virginia Beach Police Department.

According to the indictment, the sailors are accused of receiving thousands of dollars in housing allowances to which they were not entitled. The women, most of whom are from Russia or Ukraine and had arrived on work or student visas, got a fast track to citizenship.

Some of them received military identification cards from the Defense Department, exposing a security vulnerability, Worth said. "In these cases, we don't know where they come from or what their intentions are."

Five of the accused sailors served on the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship. Two others served on the USS Wasp, also an amphibious assault ship. Those on active duty were taken from the ships to face charges in Virginia, which added another cost.

"There's an impact to mission readiness," Worth said. "Those sailors have to be replaced, and the replacements have to be trained."

Several attorneys representing the sailors and their brides did not return calls seeking comment.

A Navy spokeswoman said, "Our sailors are expected to act in an ethical and responsible manner."


She added, "Sailors who commit these crimes represent a very small percentage of sailors in the U.S. Navy."

Officials said they believe that similar schemes may be taking place at other naval bases.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/17/nav ... index.html