$6M Marriage Fraud Ring Hid Profits in Dominican Republic

A Massachusetts-based marriage fraud operation funneled an estimated $6 million into real estate and businesses in the Dominican Republic over a decade, according to federal prosecutors who unsealed charges against six people on Wednesday.

The case highlights how U.S. immigration benefits are converted into offshore capital. Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, allegedly charged undocumented immigrants up to $40,000 per sham marriage to secure green cards and citizenship, arranging as many as 20 marriages annually, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley for the Massachusetts District said during a press conference at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston.

Gonzalez told a cooperating witness she invested the proceeds in property in the Dominican Republic, which she repeatedly called “my country,” Foley said. Her stated goal was acquiring land parcels for her children.

Marriage fraud has long been a vulnerability in the U.S. immigration system. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data shows that spousal petitions account for hundreds of thousands of green card applications annually, creating financial incentives for organized networks. Unlike document forgery rings, marriage fraud operations require willing U.S. citizens, making them harder to detect without informants.

Gonzalez recruited female employees to serve as the U.S. citizen spouses. Amara Pugh, 31, identified by authorities as Gonzalez’s secretary, along with Jessica Tavares, 31, Erica Daniels, 29, and Jaylin Hill, 26, were paid to marry clients, officials said. Gonzalez also entered a sham marriage herself. Court records released by the Justice Department include photographs from at least two ceremonies.

The women typically remained married for years before divorcing, then married new clients sometimes within a month of their divorce, authorities said.

Beyond immigration fees, the network extracted funds from federal safety net programs. Prosecutors allege Gonzalez collected more than $124,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits between 2019 and 2026 by omitting her marriage business income and household members—including the undocumented immigrant she married and the father of her children—from her applications.

The scheme collapsed after Gonzalez disclosed details to a witness she believed was an undocumented immigrant but who was recording the interaction for federal law enforcement, Foley said. During those conversations, Gonzalez described Massachusetts as “so special” because it is a sanctuary state where “illegal aliens get a lot of help as an immigrant.”

Gonzalez halted new sham marriages at the end of 2024 following President Donald Trump’s reelection and shut down the operation entirely in 2025, telling the informant that immigration enforcement had become “a little harsh,” according to Foley.

Gonzalez, Pugh, Tavares, and two other alleged conspirators were arrested Wednesday morning, the Justice Department said. Hill is currently serving a sentence in state prison for a firearms offense.