They dismantle network of false marriages to obtain 'green card' in Florida.

The owner of a South Florida immigration consultancy and a group of five Cuban women and five Italian men were charged with “marriage fraud” by misusing the Cuban Adjustment Act , for which they face penalties of up to 10 years. prison, reported the Prosecutor's Office.

According to a statement from the South Florida District Attorney's Office, Yamira Sánchez, a 47-year-old Miami resident and owner of the Immigration Consultant and Immigration Corp., is accused of “helping foreign men to fraudulently obtain their ID cards. residence of the United States ” .

The document also cites the indictment of "the spouses-beneficiaries" Gennaro di Tommaso, 32; Massimillano di Napoli (47), Fernando Sivo (25), Alessio Sarno (31) and Vincenzo Lopopolo (34), “for conspiracy and marriage fraud”, for which they face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $ 250,000 dollars .

Also, the public prosecutor accuses the "petitioner wives" Yaneisi Osorio Rodríguez, 35; Emily Pérez (30), Jaileen Domínguez (23), Elizabeth Penalver (29) and Loi Torriente (29) of "conspiracy, marriage fraud and one count of illegally encouraging a foreigner residing in the United States." If convicted, the women face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 250,000, the statement said.

According to the indictment revealed this week in federal district court in Miami, Sánchez, who offered immigration applications and other services to the public, was the one who recruited the women to arrange marriages of convenience.

"Because the women were born in Cuba, the Cuban Adjustment Law allowed them to seek expedited immigration benefits for their foreign husbands, such as immediate legal permanent residence in the United States in most cases," says the Prosecutor's Office.

“In exchange for thousands of dollars from men they barely knew, the women (…) married them and filed immigration petitions on their behalf, asking the United States Government to grant legal permanent residence status to their 'husbands '”, Argues the prosecution.

This allowed the men to reside permanently and work legally in the United States, he adds.

In 1966, the United States Government passed the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows Cuban citizens who come to the country legally to obtain permanent residence after one year and one month.

"It was Sánchez, through his company, who prepared, notarized and presented the marriage and immigration procedures necessary to ensure immigration benefits for Italians," the indictment states.

The indictment charges Sánchez with one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and five counts of illegally encouraging a foreigner to reside in the United States . If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 250,000.

The charges against these eleven people were announced today by Juan Antonio González, Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office.

The defendants, who are out on bail, had their first appearance this week before federal judge Edwin G. Torres.