14 charged with arranging sham marriages

Federal prosecutors in Sacramento announced Tuesday that they have charged 14 people in connection with a marriage fraud scheme.

Prosecutors said the defendants organized or entered into marriages with foreign citizens as a way to obtain green cards.

Prosecutors identified Sergey Potepalov, 55, of Citrus Heights, as the principal defendant. Potepalov was scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday afternoon.

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According to court documents, Potepalov helped arranged 39 phony marriages dating back to 2002. People from Eastern Europe and Russia paid five-figure fees to enter sham marriages with U.S. citizens or legal residents, prosecutors said.

Investigators say participants went to significant lengths to make the marriages appear legitimate. They posed for wedding pictures, rented apartments in both their names and rehearsed false answers for interviews with immigration officials.

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"The United States has immigration laws that are designed to let people in for appropriate reasons. It's designed to support people who are legitimately getting married for humanitarian reasons. But it's not designed to be for sale, for people who want to pay to phony something up," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner.

A news release indicated defendants face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

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