An American woman allegedly made millions of dollars through a scam in which she orchestrated hundreds of sham marriages to help illegal migrants secure green cards.
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migrants → make → cards
Federal prosecutors claimed that Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, was the mastermind of the scheme in Massachusetts and enlisted the help of five other American women living in the state.
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Gonzalez → claim → state
Gonzalez, of Fall River, would allegedly charge between $38,000 and $40,000 per migrant to arrange the illegal marriages, according to an affidavit filed Monday in the US District Court for Massachusetts.
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Gonzalez → charge → Massachusetts
Her operation averaged between 18 and 20 fraudulent marriages per year for about 12 years, per the legal filing.
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operation → average → filing
Gonzalez, 31-year-old Amara Pugh, 29-year-old Erica Daniels, 39-year-old Cherice Alejandro, 31-year-old Jessica Tavares and 26-year-old Jalyn Hill have each been charged with marriage fraud, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, harboring illegal aliens and conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.
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Gonzalez → charge → aliens
Pugh was allegedly the 'secretary' of the plan, while Gonzalez paid the other women to participate in one or more fake marriages with men trying to enter the US.
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Gonzalez → pay → US
Prosecutors alleged Gonzalez instructed the couples to take selfies together and establish joint bank accounts and a life insurance policy to make their marriages appear legitimate.
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marriages → allege → accounts
In one recording allegedly captured between Gonzalez and a witness, she referred to Massachusetts's status as a 'sanctuary' state and called it a 'safe haven for immigration.'
Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, is accused of carrying out a sham marriage ring.
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Gonzalez → capture → ring
She is seen in the back seat during an August 6 meeting in which she allegedly took a payment of $3,000 in cash
Erica Daniels was pictured allegedly entering a sham marriage with an illegal migrant from Brazil in August 2024, per the affidavit
Gonzalez allegedly revealed the fraudulent wedding scheme to a witness cooperating with federal investigators.
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Gonzalez → see → investigators
In June, investigators facilitated an introduction between Gonzalez and the witness, who was supposedly trying to arrange a fake marriage in order to enter the US.
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who → facilitate → US
'I've been doing this for more than ten years,' Gonzalez told him, per the filing.
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Gonzalez → do → filing
She told the witness that he would marry his partner for three or three-and-a-half years, the filing said.
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filing → tell → years
Gonzalez also said it could take three or four months to prepare the fraudulent paperwork to make the marriage happen.
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marriage → say → paperwork
The witness allegedly asked Gonzalez what would happen if his sham wife fell in love with him, to which she replied: 'We're not here for love.'
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We → ask → love
Gonzalez allegedly proposed Alejandro, who investigators believe is her sister-in-law, to be the witness' wife.
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investigators → propose → law
Alejandro already had two prior marriages with Brazilians who did not have legal status in the US at the time, according to the affidavit.
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who → have → affidavit
Immigration investigators determined that both of her marriages were fraudulent.
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both → determine → marriages
Still, Gonzalez allegedly told the witness that Alejandro – his 'best option' – had been married once but 'not for documents as much as I know' and that 'these girls are very, very vetted.'
Jessica Tavares was pictured allegedly entering a sham marriage with an illegal migrant from Brazil in May 2018, according to federal prosecutors
Gonzalez was allegedly captured directing the signing of a disguised 'loan' contract and accepting a $3,000 cash down payment for arranging the sham marriage.
She allegedly told the witness that the contract intentionally did not mention the spouse because that could be 'incriminating.'
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that → tell → spouse
The filing claimed Gonzalez said putting 'purchasing a wife for immigration purposes' in a contract would be 'pretty bad.'
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putting → claim → contract
Customers allegedly made ongoing $500 monthly payments to their fake spouse to keep up the fraudulent marriage.
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Customers → make → marriage
Images in the affidavit showed Tavares in May 2018 during a sham marriage with someone authorities claimed was an illegal migrant from Brazil.
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authorities → show → Brazil
Daniels was also photographed in the legal document marrying a Brazilian illegal migrant, albeit in August 2024.
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Daniels → photograph → August
In one recorded meeting described in the affidavit, Gonzalez allegedly said that she had stopped doing weddings towards the end of 2024 when her husband got sick and 'when Trump was becoming a president.
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Trump → record → 2024
Cherise Alejandro, 39, can be seen in grey, with Amara Pugh, 31, in a dark shirt and Gonzalez on the far right
Gonzalez allegedly added that she did not work the following year either 'because immigration was a little bit harsh,' per the filing.
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immigration → see → filing
In another exchange, she stressed that 'we're in a new government' where 'things are a little bit more difficult.
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things → stress → government
'
'We both gotta make sure that everything's done correctly,' Gonzalez said, per the affidavit.
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Gonzalez → got → affidavit
She also said that 'Trump doesn't like this state because the government from here [...] the state defends us very much.'
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state → say → us
Gonzalez allegedly said in recorded conversations that she used the money to buy property and other assets for herself and her children in the Dominican Republic, which she called 'my country.'
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she → say → which
Leah Foley, the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said Gonzalez 'got rich off selling the American dream, all the while investing her money in another country.
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Gonzalez → say → country
Foley said Gonzalez also allegedly defrauded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from 2019 through 2026, receiving more than $124,000 in benefits during that time.
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Gonzalez → say → time
Gonzalez, Daniels, Alejandro, Pugh and Tavares were arrested on Wednesday morning.
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Gonzalez → arrest → morning
Hill is already in state prison serving a sentence for a firearms offense.
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Hill → serve → offense
The six women were scheduled to make their initial appearances in court Wednesday afternoon.
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women → schedule → court
The Daily Mail has reached out to Gonzalez's attorney, Alyssa Hackett; Pugh's attorney, Jason G Benzaken; Daniels's attorney, Oscar Cruz Jr; Alejandro's attorney, David Andrew Leon; Hill's attorney, Mark W Shea, and Tavares's attorney, Megan A Siddall, for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
The Daily Mail also reached out to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts for further comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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