The lure: up to $10,000 in cash and an
all-expenses paid trip to a beach in Cambodia.
For the men, throw in a free
trip to a Cambodian brothel; and for the women, discounted nail service at
salons back in Louisville.The mission: Marry foreign-born
Cambodian nationals so they could win permanent resident status in the United
States.
In an indictment made public Tuesday, a federal grand jury in
Louisville has charged that 20 U.S. citizens took the bait, including residents
of Louisville, Lexington and Georgetown. In all, 23 people were arrested in
three states and charged with conspiring to
orchestrate
more than a dozen bogus marriages and attempted unions.
As part of the elaborate plot, the recruited Americans
and their Cambodian fiancées were photographed frolicking in hotel rooms, at
beaches and at tourist attractions in Cambodia, where they were instructed to
frequently change attire to give the appearance of multiple meetings during
long-term relationships, the indictment charges.
The American brides and
grooms were paid $1,000 to $5,000 to get engaged, then a matching amount when
they tied the knot in civil ceremonies back in Louisville.
The organizers
plied one groom — identified in the indictment as Donald McKinley Martin, 27, of
Georgetown, with sexual
favors at a Cambodian nightclub, offering him two young women identified as
virgins.
When one of the would-be brides, Sharon Lee Spalding, 44,
of Lexington, got cold feet about marrying upon her return to Kentucky,
according to the indictment, one of the organizers, Vuthea Niev, alias “T,” 57,
of Prospect, allegedly threatened to kill her.
She eventually wed Chok
Chan, 49, who now lives in Mount Sterling, and they both swore the marriage was
legitimate, but they later divorced, as did they other coupes who wed, the
indictment states.
It charges that the conspiracy spanned 10 years and
didn’t end until last week.
In a news release issued by the U.S.
Attorney’s office in Louisville, John Morton, the Department of Homeland
Security’s Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the
agency “will not tolerate those who facilitate, arrange, or profit from sham
marriages to criminally exploit our nation’s generous immigration
system.
“Marriage fraud results in an illegal shortcut to U.S.
citizenship and poses a concern to our national security,” he said. “All of
those involved in these false marriages will be held accountable.”
The
indictment charges that Americans were recruited for the scheme at nail salons
owned by the organizers, including “Pretty Nails,” “Tiffany Salon and Spa” and
“Pristine Nails,” and were promised cut-rate service for
participating.
Recruits were then urged to recruit others, and eventually
20 were drawn into the scheme, including a dozen who weren’t charged and are
identified in the charging document by their initials.
The maximum
penalties for most counts in the 10-count indictment are five years in
prison and a $250,000 fine. The defendants will appear for arraignment on
dates to be set in Louisville and elsewhere.
The others charged as
organizers of the alleged scheme were Michael Chanthou Chin, 39,
of New Albany; Patrick Theng
Chea, 45, of Louisville; Steve Sovan Uy, alias Sovan Oum,
43, of Nashville; Phearoun Peter Em, alias Sophea
Lim, 22, of Sellersburg, Ind.; and Monirath Em, alias Angel, 32, of New
Albany.
Niev is a U.S. citizen and the others are Cambodian-born
naturalized U.S. citizens, according to the indictment. None of them could be
reached for comment.
The other U.S. residents charged with participating
or attempting to participate in fraudulent marriages were Jeremy Dickson
Carmickle, 38, Christopher William McAlister Sr., 52, Christopher William
McAlister Jr., 25, Stephanie Jean Murphy, 31, and Asaad Abdulrazak Alkinani, 39,
all of Louisville; and Justin Michael Martin, 25, of Georgetown.
Other
Cambodian nationals charged were Borin Chum, 29 and Yota Em, 24,
and Sangha Srey, 49, of New Albany; Sina Ros, 38, of Houston;
Huong Sreng, 35,
location unknown; Sona Ngov,
29, of Corydon; and Nary Bun, 28, of
Louisville.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage
fraud, while some are also charged with marriage and visa fraud, said U.S.
Attorney Candace Hill.
Reporter Andrew
Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189.