LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A Baldwin Hills man was convicted today of arranging sham marriages aimed at allowing Nigerian nationals to obtain legal residency in the United States.
Alake “Terry” Ilegbameh, 46, was convicted of six felony counts of conspiracy to violate immigration laws, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He is facing 30 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Feb. 24 by U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald in downtown Los Angeles.
According to prosecutors, Ilegbameh arranged sham marriages for six Nigerian immigrants by recruiting American citizens who were typically offered $1,000 or more to take part in the weddings.
He also instructed the immigrants and their sham spouses on how to make the relationships appear genuine — from opening joint bank accounts to taking photographs together, prosecutors said. He also arranged for appointments with immigration attorneys to complete fraudulent citizenship forms, according to prosecutors.
“Hollywood likes to glamorize marriage fraud, but as this defendant discovered, in real life these schemes don’t have happy endings,” according to Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. “Immigration benefit fraud is a serious crime. Not only do these activities undermine the integrity of our nation’s legal immigration system, they also pose a significant security vulnerability.”
