She helped women marry for money — literally, feds say. She now faces fraud charges.
Getting a green card to come to the United States isn’t easy.
So Yamira Sanchez expedited the process by brokering marriages between Italian men and Cuban-born women living in South Florida as United States citizens or legal permanent residents, federal investigators say.
Sanchez, 47, of Miami, now faces charges of conspiring to commit marriage fraud and five counts of unlawfully encouraging an alien to reside in the United States.
Sanchez owned Immigration Consultant and Immigration Corp., a South Florida company that offered immigration applications and other services, according to the Miami federal district court indictment. Some of her services, though, were illegal, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office news release. The business is registered solely under Sanchez and is still active, records show.
Here’s how it worked, according to the indictment: Sanchez recruited Cuban-born women to marry the men in exchange for thousands of dollars. Some women received $4,000 to enter into the marriage. Next, Sanchez filed immigration petitions to grant legal residency status to the men. Under the Cuban Adjustment Act, the men received accelerated immigration benefits by marrying women who had been born in Cuba. In most cases, the men received immediate legal residency status, which would allow them to work in the United States.
Also charged in the alleged scheme are Gennaro di Tommaso, 32; Massimillano di Napoli, 47; Fernando Sivo, 25; Alessio Sarno, 31; and Vincenzo Lopopolo, 34; facing conspiracy and marriage fraud counts. Five of the wives were additionally charged: Yaneisi Osorio Rodriguez, 35; Emily Perez, 30; Jaileen Dominguez, 23; Elizabeth Penalver, 29; and Loi Torriente, 29; with conspiracy, marriage fraud, and one count each of unlawfully encouraging an alien to reside in the United States.
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 2:50 PM.
