By News Americas Now Staff Writer
News Americas Now, NY, NY, Oct. 23, 2026: Six people in Massachusetts have been charged in connection with a marriage fraud ring that has links to the Dominican Republic.
Prosecutors say the ring operated for more than a decade, arranging sham marriages between undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens to fraudulently secure immigration status. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts announced the charges this week, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) saying it played a key role in the investigation. Prosecutors allege the ring’s leader, Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, ran the operation for at least 10 years, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and using the proceeds to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic.
Also charged were Erica Daniels, 29; Chreise Alejandro, 39; Amara Pugh, 31; Jessica Tavares, 31, of Attleboro; and Jaylin Hill, 26 – all of Fall River except Tavares. Gonzalez, Daniels, Alejandro, Pugh, and Tavares were arrested; Hill is already serving a state prison sentence on a firearms charge. All six face charges of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, and marriage fraud.
COURT DOCUMENTS
According to court documents, Gonzalez charged her “customers” between $38,000 and $40,000 per sham marriage and paid Daniels, Alejandro, Tavares, and Hill – all U.S. citizens – to marry them, averaging 18 to 20 fraudulent marriages a year. Pugh is alleged to have worked as the operation’s “secretary.” Prosecutors say Gonzalez coached clients on creating the appearance of a legitimate marriage, including joint bank accounts, life insurance policies, and staged photographs, and required them to sign contracts disguised as loan agreements to avoid incriminating language.
According to court documents, Gonzalez was captured on video and audio recordings during the investigation directing the printing and signing of a disguised “loan” contract and accepting a $3,000 cash down payment for arranging a sham marriage. Gonzalez allegedly told the customer that the contract intentionally avoided mentioning the spouse because doing so would be “incriminating,” and that she designed the documents to conceal the fraudulent purpose. It is further alleged that customers commonly made ongoing $500 monthly payments to their assigned “spouse” or someone close to the spouse as part of maintaining the sham marriage.
In recorded conversations cited in the court filing, Gonzalez allegedly told a customer that Massachusetts was a strategic choice given stricter federal immigration enforcement: “This state is a sanctuary, like Trump doesn’t like this state because the government from here, the state defends us very much… Massachusetts is the best place for you to be.”
Court documents further allege that Gonzalez and other defendants falsely claimed on Massachusetts SNAP benefit applications to have never been married – even while filing federal immigration petitions on behalf of their sham spouses. Gonzalez is alleged to have collected more than $120,000 in SNAP benefits while running the scheme.
The charges of harboring undocumented immigrants carry up to 10 years in prison; marriage fraud charges carry up to five years.
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