Federal prosecutors say six people were charged in an operation that allegedly arranged fraudulent marriages for immigration benefits for more than a decade.
BOSTON, MA — Federal authorities arrested a Massachusetts woman accused of leading a yearslong sham marriage operation that prosecutors say charged people tens of thousands of dollars to arrange fraudulent marriages aimed at obtaining green cards and other U.S. immigration benefits.
Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, was among five defendants arrested Wednesday, Oct. 21, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. A sixth defendant, Jaylin Hill, 26, was already serving a state prison sentence on a firearms offense. Prosecutors allege Gonzalez ran the operation for more than 10 years, arranging marriages between U.S. citizens and people seeking immigration status while collecting millions of dollars from the business.
Gonzalez, Erica Daniels, 29; Cherice Alejandro, 39; Amara Pugh, 31; Jessica Tavares, 31; and Hill were charged with conspiracy to harbor people who were unlawfully in the United States, harboring them, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Homeland Security Investigations learned during the summer of 2026 about an alleged marriage fraud operation centered in Massachusetts. Investigators said Gonzalez arranged for U.S. citizens to marry noncitizens so the noncitizens could submit immigration applications based on marriages that were not genuine. The applications could lead to lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card, and potentially later U.S. citizenship.
Investigators allege the operation had been active for approximately 12 years and averaged about 18 to 20 fraudulent marriages each year. In a recorded meeting described in the complaint, Gonzalez allegedly told a cooperating witness that her group had helped obtain hundreds of green cards. She allegedly charged customers between $38,000 and $40,000 for each arranged marriage while directing additional payments to people who participated in the marriages.
Prosecutors say Daniels, Alejandro, Tavares and Hill, all U.S. citizens, were paid to participate in one or more marriages with customers of the operation. Pugh, also a U.S. citizen, allegedly worked as the operation’s secretary. Federal authorities say the marriages were used to support documents submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as evidence that the relationships were legitimate.
The criminal complaint says investigators relied on recorded conversations, cooperating witnesses, financial evidence, public records, surveillance and other investigative methods. Authorities allege Gonzalez earned hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from the operation over at least the past decade. The Justice Department separately described the alleged scheme as having generated millions of dollars for its leader.
The investigation brought together Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with assistance from inspectors general at the departments of Labor, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Crowley and Kaitlin J. Brown of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.
Federal law provides maximum prison terms of up to 10 years for harboring offenses and conspiracies to harbor, while marriage fraud and conspiracy to commit marriage fraud each carry maximum terms of up to five years. Any sentence would be determined by a federal judge if a defendant is convicted and would depend on the applicable law and circumstances of the case.
The Justice Department said the investigation remains ongoing. Prosecutors have not announced final findings on how many immigration applications may ultimately be tied to the alleged operation, and the allegations in the criminal complaint have not been proven at trial.
Author note: Last updated October 22, 2026.