Minister Pleads Guilty to Illegal Immigration Scheme

Fake Marriages Have Landed This Minister in Some Hot Water

By Jason Webb, published Jul 27, 2007
Published Content: 54  Total Views: 25,068  Favorited By: 8 CPs
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A press release from the New York United States Attorney's Office announces that a minister, Cameron Lloyd, has pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiring to commit visa fraud. This fraudulent scheme involved a false marriage scam that resulted in over $1 million to participants. The scam employed a number of participants who performed actions designed to fool U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (CIS). This organization was formerly known as the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS).

The scam originated with a local business named Help Preparers Professional Services (HPPS). The owner, Beverly Mozer-Browne, operated this business in Queens, New York. The business advertised services that would assist individuals with financial and legal concerns. However, those involved with HPPS were actually securing green cards and other permanent resident documents from CIS for their customers. Mozer-Brown conspired with several other participants as part of this scheme. Her brother, Phillip A. Browne, was a key participant as he worked for CIS as a District Adjudication Officer.

Lloyd's role was to perform bogus weddings between American citizens and illegal aliens. From there, HPPS would file green card applications for the illegal aliens. Phillip Browne would then approve the applications without requiring the illegal alien to appear for interviews, which is a normal procedure for obtaining a green card.

This scheme has been going on for approximately five years. Over this time, the participants have charged fees that exceed $1 million dollars. During his guilty plea, Lloyd confessed that he had signed blank marriage certificates and passed them along to Mozer-Browne and her associated at HPPS knowing that they planned to fraudulently obtain green cards.

Minister Pleads Guilty to Illegal Immigration Scheme
Date: July 1, 2007
Location:
New York, NY  USA

Wedding Ring.

Credit: Miroslav Sárička

Copyright: www.sxc.hu

Takeaways
  • Minister Pleads Guilty
  • Millions in Fees Obtained
Comments
Showing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
 
 
I knew somebody in school that did this. Didn't blame her though - the guy was Iranian and desperate to stay in the US.

Posted on 12/04/2007 at 12:12:00 PM

 
This doesn't surprise me. When I was going through the whole immigration process, I had to prove along every step of the way that my marriage was legal and not a marriage of convenience, simply to avoid the normal immigration laws.

Posted on 07/30/2007 at 2:07:00 PM

 
Well, thhis is a surprise. I thought it only happened in movies....

Posted on 07/28/2007 at 5:07:00 PM

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