Thai Ginger owner sentenced to prison for immigration fraud



Varee Bradford was paying $20,000 for U.S. citizens to enter into sham marriages with Thai nationals so they could obtain legal status to stay in the U.S.


Story Published: Feb 19, 2010 at 2:21 PM PST
Story Updated: Feb 19, 2010 at 2:21 PM PST
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SEATTLE -- The owner of a chain of popular Seattle-area Thai restaurants was sentenced to six months in prison for immigration fraud Friday.

Varee Bradford, 44, of Sammamish will also be required to have two years of supervised release for recruiting U.S. citizens to engage in sham marriages with four Thai nationals -- three of them who worked in her restaurants.

The point of the marriages was to allow the Thai citizens to obtain legal status to stay in the United States.

According to the plea agreement, the U.S. citizens were paid $20,000 and told the marriages would only have to last two years until the Thai nationals received their green cards.

She was busted when she made the $20,000 offer to an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to enter into a sham marriage.

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