By Andrew Wolfson
Courier-journal.com (Louisville, Kentucky, USA)
The lure: up to $10,000 in cash and an all-expenses paid trip to a beach in Cambodia.
For the men, throw in a free trip to a Cambodian brothel; and for the women, discounted nail service at salons back in Louisville.
The mission: Marry foreign-born Cambodian nationals so they could win permanent resident status in the United States.
In an indictment made public Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Louisville has charged that 20 U.S. citizens took the bait, including residents of Louisville, Lexington and Georgetown. In all, 23 people were arrested in three states and charged with conspiring to orchestrate more than a dozen bogus marriages and attempted unions.
As part of the elaborate plot, the recruited Americans and their Cambodian fiancées were photographed frolicking in hotel rooms, at beaches and at tourist attractions in Cambodia, where they were instructed to frequently change attire to give the appearance of multiple meetings during long-term relationships, the indictment charges.
The American brides and grooms were paid $1,000 to $5,000 to get engaged, then a matching amount when they tied the knot in civil ceremonies back in Louisville.
The organizers plied one groom — identified in the indictment as Donald McKinley Martin, 27, of Georgetown, with sexual favors at a Cambodian nightclub, offering him two young women identified as virgins.
When one of the would-be brides, Sharon Lee Spalding, 44, of Lexington, got cold feet about marrying upon her return to Kentucky, according to the indictment, one of the organizers, Vuthea Niev, alias “T,” 57, of Prospect, allegedly threatened to kill her.
She eventually wed Chok Chan, 49, who now lives in Mount Sterling, and they both swore the marriage was legitimate, but they later divorced, as did they other coupes who wed, the indictment states.
It charges that the conspiracy spanned 10 years and didn’t end until last week.
In a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Louisville, John Morton, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency “will not tolerate those who facilitate, arrange, or profit from sham marriages to criminally exploit our nation’s generous immigration system.
“Marriage fraud results in an illegal shortcut to U.S. citizenship and poses a concern to our national security,” he said. “All of those involved in these false marriages will be held accountable.”
The indictment charges that Americans were recruited for the scheme at nail salons owned by the organizers, including “Pretty Nails,” “Tiffany Salon and Spa” and “Pristine Nails,” and were promised cut-rate service for participating.
Recruits were then urged to recruit others, and eventually 20 were drawn into the scheme, including a dozen who weren’t charged and are identified in the charging document by their initials.
The maximum penalties for most counts in the 10-count indictment are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The defendants will appear for arraignment on dates to be set in Louisville and elsewhere.
The others charged as organizers of the alleged scheme were Michael Chanthou Chin, 39, of New Albany; Patrick Theng Chea, 45, of Louisville; Steve Sovan Uy, alias Sovan Oum, 43, of Nashville; Phearoun Peter Em, alias Sophea Lim, 22, of Sellersburg, Ind.; and Monirath Em, alias Angel, 32, of New Albany.
Niev is a U.S. citizen and the others are Cambodian-born naturalized U.S. citizens, according to the indictment. None of them could be reached for comment.
The other U.S. residents charged with participating or attempting to participate in fraudulent marriages were Jeremy Dickson Carmickle, 38, Christopher William McAlister Sr., 52, Christopher William McAlister Jr., 25, Stephanie Jean Murphy, 31, and Asaad Abdulrazak Alkinani, 39, all of Louisville; and Justin Michael Martin, 25, of Georgetown.
Other Cambodian nationals charged were Borin Chum, 29 and Yota Em, 24, and Sangha Srey, 49, of New Albany; Sina Ros, 38, of Houston; Huong Sreng, 35, location unknown; Sona Ngov, 29, of Corydon; and Nary Bun, 28, of Louisville.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, while some are also charged with marriage and visa fraud, said U.S. Attorney Candace Hill.
Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189.
For the men, throw in a free trip to a Cambodian brothel; and for the women, discounted nail service at salons back in Louisville.
The mission: Marry foreign-born Cambodian nationals so they could win permanent resident status in the United States.
In an indictment made public Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Louisville has charged that 20 U.S. citizens took the bait, including residents of Louisville, Lexington and Georgetown. In all, 23 people were arrested in three states and charged with conspiring to orchestrate more than a dozen bogus marriages and attempted unions.
As part of the elaborate plot, the recruited Americans and their Cambodian fiancées were photographed frolicking in hotel rooms, at beaches and at tourist attractions in Cambodia, where they were instructed to frequently change attire to give the appearance of multiple meetings during long-term relationships, the indictment charges.
The American brides and grooms were paid $1,000 to $5,000 to get engaged, then a matching amount when they tied the knot in civil ceremonies back in Louisville.
The organizers plied one groom — identified in the indictment as Donald McKinley Martin, 27, of Georgetown, with sexual favors at a Cambodian nightclub, offering him two young women identified as virgins.
When one of the would-be brides, Sharon Lee Spalding, 44, of Lexington, got cold feet about marrying upon her return to Kentucky, according to the indictment, one of the organizers, Vuthea Niev, alias “T,” 57, of Prospect, allegedly threatened to kill her.
She eventually wed Chok Chan, 49, who now lives in Mount Sterling, and they both swore the marriage was legitimate, but they later divorced, as did they other coupes who wed, the indictment states.
It charges that the conspiracy spanned 10 years and didn’t end until last week.
In a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Louisville, John Morton, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency “will not tolerate those who facilitate, arrange, or profit from sham marriages to criminally exploit our nation’s generous immigration system.
“Marriage fraud results in an illegal shortcut to U.S. citizenship and poses a concern to our national security,” he said. “All of those involved in these false marriages will be held accountable.”
The indictment charges that Americans were recruited for the scheme at nail salons owned by the organizers, including “Pretty Nails,” “Tiffany Salon and Spa” and “Pristine Nails,” and were promised cut-rate service for participating.
Recruits were then urged to recruit others, and eventually 20 were drawn into the scheme, including a dozen who weren’t charged and are identified in the charging document by their initials.
The maximum penalties for most counts in the 10-count indictment are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The defendants will appear for arraignment on dates to be set in Louisville and elsewhere.
The others charged as organizers of the alleged scheme were Michael Chanthou Chin, 39, of New Albany; Patrick Theng Chea, 45, of Louisville; Steve Sovan Uy, alias Sovan Oum, 43, of Nashville; Phearoun Peter Em, alias Sophea Lim, 22, of Sellersburg, Ind.; and Monirath Em, alias Angel, 32, of New Albany.
Niev is a U.S. citizen and the others are Cambodian-born naturalized U.S. citizens, according to the indictment. None of them could be reached for comment.
The other U.S. residents charged with participating or attempting to participate in fraudulent marriages were Jeremy Dickson Carmickle, 38, Christopher William McAlister Sr., 52, Christopher William McAlister Jr., 25, Stephanie Jean Murphy, 31, and Asaad Abdulrazak Alkinani, 39, all of Louisville; and Justin Michael Martin, 25, of Georgetown.
Other Cambodian nationals charged were Borin Chum, 29 and Yota Em, 24, and Sangha Srey, 49, of New Albany; Sina Ros, 38, of Houston; Huong Sreng, 35, location unknown; Sona Ngov, 29, of Corydon; and Nary Bun, 28, of Louisville.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, while some are also charged with marriage and visa fraud, said U.S. Attorney Candace Hill.
Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189.
30 comments:
Shame on them!It's worst than prostitution.
A lot of people in Long Beach and Seattle/Tacoma especially the Chinese descnts do this for profit too.
Some Hun Sen
government officials i.e state secretary or under secretary have their wives and kids using sham marriages with their distant relatives to come to US.
Please lock them up and toss the keys in ocean.
There are a lot more than 23 people who have committed fraud marriages. I'd say about 80% of Cambodian-borned US naturalized citizens who married cambodian women and bring them over to the US were all fake marriages.
It's against the law but at least these people have a chance to have a new life and most of them strive really hard to build a better life here in US, unlike these Mexican cockroaches who came here illegally work under the table and pay no taxes, and they make a lot of babies so they can get the State benefits on top of that.
How was the activity hacked in the first place? Someone from the inside must have snitched because of a deal went sour or not as planned. Anyway, presecute them all. This is not Cambodia. This is America where everyone is under the laws.
Truth no one, wicked people have no heart and feeling for anyone but themselves. They would do anything to get what they want. There are two types of people as we all know, the good and the bad. The good are those who love to help and genuinely meant it. The bad are those who love to make trouble and enjoyed to seeing other get hurts. Please be aware of the pretenders as well. If you can ask them first of all "what qualification do they have?" but sometimes, we need to analyse if their body language matches with their own words because sometimes not all professional are not good either, like they like to take advantages of the poor and condemned them and saying that they are stupid. Some professionals are very critical and judgmental while others are genuinely kind and honest. Again, watch their body language, if they scratch part of their faces while talking, just be aware of that, he or she is a fake. wisdom
In Hun Sen cabinet such as Khieu Kanharith, Sar Kheng, Hok Langdy, Sok An etc... are the Smugglers.
The US officials should take a good look at these hard evidence.
US must searches these cases from all 50 states. The Main states are CA, WA, TX, AZ, ILL, FL, MN, PA, VA, NY, CT, MA, MD. all fake married states. some of those were paid up to $70,000 to completed status as Green Card.
This is not new. You ask any cambodian people, everybody knows about the fake marriage, the ongoing rates now is between $30G-50G or more if you include 2 kids with the deal. Haha, funny how the american system works, always a loophole.
Camodian! Cambodian! Cambodian! They came a lawless naiton, and NEVER learned shit. Once a scum living in the slum...always a scum living in the slum.
Shame on them....!
This is been going on for nearly 15years. I knew some of them had been married 3-4 times already. each married earning from 50G to 70G. it depend on conditions on both sides.
9:28 AM,
If you knew that for the fact! Why don't you report them?
To ICE:
Song, Kunthea entered illegally U.S.A through a SHAM MARRIAGE arranged by a khmer gal named Him, Bun Ho living at 206 East 68th Street, Tacoma, WA 98404.
The khmer widow who did involve with Song Kunthea's sham marriage is Mr.Samai's daughter living near old khmer temple in Tacoma, WA state, Makinlee Ave.
Him, Bun Ho's son named Hap Hoy went to Cambodia in 1993, and married Nuon Chea's niece named Nuon Keth. Both of them are now living in Booney Lake, WA.
Khmer in WA
9:21am, Fuck u motherfucker for looking down on the Cambodian. YOu're the fucken scum, u fucken scumbag! And all you motherfuckers out there who have no compassion for people. These people could be your mother or relatives who want to leave Cambodia for a better life but have no other alternatives. Have a heart, motherfuckers!!!!
Not only Cambodians, these are societal sick. I have seen Viet people, Tamil people, Indian people, Nigerian people, Spanish, etc. all groups are doing this marriage scam. It is good that the authorities have caught with these activities. It is so unfair for the people that follow proper rules and still cannot bring love-ones here to be reunited.
To 9:51AM
I agree with you! Some of the fools in here claim to know everything but why they fail to report to the police or something and these people share the trait as those who have committed these illegal act!
Let face it and Cambodia is a dirt-poor country and the crushing poverty drive Cambodian people to escape Cambodia for a better life whether through legal or illegal marriage or by any other mean! These illegal acts are done by other nationality too not only the Cambodian but it is unfortunate that Cambodian people are caught in this case!
For those Cambodian people who marry for love according to the American law and they shouldn't be victimized by a few bad apples!
Outrageous claimed $70,000, $50,000,$30,000...Dirt poor Cambodian salary is $30-$40 a month and why bother come to America and with that much money and they can retire and live a good life in Cambodia!
LOL...I know that this time would comes!!! HA...HA HA!!!.....Now if the USA go back to 10 years and investigate all of those marriage, they would be in a very big shocker of how many case they would have in hands. Ha ha ha!!!
not only in Louisville, KY,, this is all accross USA. especially that states that has alot of Cambodian. FBI are now looking people. going 10 years back. watch out...someone will be knocking your door. LOL
10:35 AM
Not on ordinary people. Most of them are the crook sons and the crook daughters! they dare to pay up to $100,000 in some cases!
Most of the human traffickers in Cambodia they do have the heavy back bone to depend on such ministers, Police chief, Generals Custom chief etc...
I know many cases of bogus marriages made in Cambodia or in US. Im Suro Sdey´ son bogus marrige in US is one case. Now he works at the NEC with his father.
You all mother fuckers are a bunch of haters. Always have something smart to say about your own people. You all are no different than them anyway. lol Get real MoFo
It belongs to the society, where we are now living.
It is not wrong, because we only wanted to help our brothers and sisters. Of course we made some good business.
But we are not the first, just learned these bad system from others. The caucasians, Latino, Indian, Tamil, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Afros also have done this ways before us.
Are there number to call to report this schame marriage? I know one girl divorce her husband and sleeping with two american guys one is a Dr. and another one is a nurse in exchange to marry her relatives in Cambodian.
If you want to denounce those really fake scamsn, here is the contact;
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.
Khmer in WA
10:26 AM
Great Work! Good citizen!
10:27 AM,
Fuck you too! Mother fucker! You're fucking welfare sucker! You scum of the earth! You poor bastard! Go back to fucking shit hole! We don't NEED scum bag lik you in the US. I have a heart! Do you have a fucking balls....why would you care for those 23 earth worms any way? You fuckign LOOSER! I hope you die for a horrible car crash of this new year.
10:35 AM,
I totally agree with you!
2:19pm, fuck u motherfucker! I don't live in the U.S. like u, fucken welfare recipient. Only a welfare sucker would wish bad things upon others.... cuz the motherfucker doesn't have anything better to do. No job, no shit to live on so all he does is get pissed off at his neighbor who lives a better life than him. So fuck off, you fucken jealous moron!
No, u don't have a heart, u fucken ashole. I hope u, your fucken bitchy mother, and your entire generation die in agony this Khmer New Year. They all will carry your sin for u. Let the bad blood be wiped off completely!!!!
Wow!
Thormik and Phnaek Prak
are in every corner.
Thank both for a good
deeds.
if you are a Christian, you know what Fake wedding or marriage would do to your soul. However, majority of Khmer are Buddism anyway, they don't know.
I am Cambodian living in Cambodia. I sometimes work in rural Cambodia with farmers. I was surprise that the Cambodian farmers are more polite than some of the participants in this KI media forum
Humans are stupid and love negativity. You should not judge a book by its covers. Just because illegal marriages are happening does not make Cambodians bad people. There are SEVERAL nationalities/ethnicities doing this. I have heard Viet, Germany, Laos & more do it. What makes them any different? Enough of the name calling bullshit, if your a grown up speak like one. Why must you look down on people does it make you feel better? If anything your the one that's sad.
I've never been to Cambodia but I know it's not exactly where you'd want to grow up, live, or raise children. It's a third world country with crime, prostitution and child sex slaves. Would you want to live a life like that. I think not. Be grateful you don't have to endure any of that hardship. I don't blame the people for doing this NOR do I agree with what they did. In life you have to fight for what you want isn't that what society teaches us? You cannot blame people for following what is taught to them.
Also enough with the religion bullcrap. Seriously half of the Americans don't follow it anyways. Doing sin all week then go into Church on Sunday and pray. Hypocritical. All religions are the same anyways, bullshit after bullshit. Does it fix racism, prejudice..in your dreams! So tell me then what is the POINT of religion if you DON'T follow EVERYTHING. AS IF HUMANS CAN BE PERFECT. WE ARE IMPERFECT. Simply treat people the way you want to be treated, have good morals, and be a good person as much as you can be.
As for you Americans that think your so inferior to others. Why is your test scores as so poor compared to other countries? Why are we in debt crisis?
Yes I am American if your wondering and I can tell you this country is not as great as it seems. It's safe to live until someone comes and bombs us for all our stupid, patethic governments wrong doings. Go ahead tell me I'm lying and bash me. Whatever floats your boat.
If you ask me no country is better than another, safer than another. Either way natural disasters will be the end of us all. Maybe then it may fix humans toxic waste, stupidity and there may be world peace.
World peace. The end.
hmmmm alot scam married in usa
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