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-Lurid Crime Tales-

American woman made millions by recruiting army of fake brides to wed migrants in huge green card scam, federal prosecutors allege

2026-10-22

[DM] An American woman allegedly made millions of dollars through a scam in which she orchestrated hundreds of sham marriages to help illegal migrants secure green cards.

Federal prosecutors claimed that Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, was the mastermind of the scheme in Massachusetts and enlisted the help of five other American women living in the state.

Gonzalez, of Fall River, would allegedly charge between $38,000 and $40,000 per migrant to arrange the illegal marriages, according to an affidavit filed Monday in the US District Court for Massachusetts.

Her operation averaged between 18 and 20 fraudulent marriages per year for about 12 years, per the legal filing.

Gonzalez, 31-year-old Amara Pugh, 29-year-old Erica Daniels, 39-year-old Cherice Alejandro, 31-year-old Jessica Tavares and 26-year-old Jalyn Hill have each been charged with marriage fraud, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, harboring illegal aliens and conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.

Pugh was allegedly the 'secretary' of the plan, while Gonzalez paid the other women to participate in one or more fake marriages with men trying to enter the US.

Prosecutors alleged Gonzalez instructed the couples to take selfies together and establish joint bank accounts and a life insurance policy to make their marriages appear legitimate.

In one recording allegedly captured between Gonzalez and a witness, she referred to Massachusetts's status as a 'sanctuary' state and called it a 'safe haven for immigration.'

Gonzalez allegedly revealed the fraudulent wedding scheme to a witness cooperating with federal investigators.

In June, investigators facilitated an introduction between Gonzalez and the witness, who was supposedly trying to arrange a fake marriage in order to enter the US.

'I've been doing this for more than ten years,' Gonzalez told him, per the filing. 'This is something that I'm very good at.'

She told the witness that he would marry his partner for three or three-and-a-half years, the filing said.

Gonzalez also said it could take three or four months to prepare the fraudulent paperwork to make the marriage happen.

The witness allegedly asked Gonzalez what would happen if his sham wife fell in love with him, to which she replied: 'We're not here for love.'

Gonzalez allegedly proposed Alejandro, who investigators believe is her sister-in-law, to be the witness' wife.

Alejandro already had two prior marriages with Brazilians who did not have legal status in the US at the time, according to the affidavit. Immigration investigators determined that both of her marriages were fraudulent.

Still, Gonzalez allegedly told the witness that Alejandro – his 'best option' – had been married once but 'not for documents as much as I know' and that 'these girls are very, very vetted.'

Gonzalez was allegedly captured directing the signing of a disguised 'loan' contract and accepting a $3,000 cash down payment for arranging the sham marriage.

She allegedly told the witness that the contract intentionally did not mention the spouse because that could be 'incriminating.'

The filing claimed Gonzalez said putting 'purchasing a wife for immigration purposes' in a contract would be 'pretty bad.'

Customers allegedly made ongoing $500 monthly payments to their fake spouse to keep up the fraudulent marriage.

Images in the affidavit showed Tavares in May 2018 during a sham marriage with someone authorities claimed was an illegal migrant from Brazil.

Daniels was also photographed in the legal document marrying a Brazilian illegal migrant, albeit in August 2024.

In one recorded meeting described in the affidavit, Gonzalez allegedly said that she had stopped doing weddings towards the end of 2024 when her husband got sick and 'when Trump was becoming a president.'

Gonzalez allegedly added that she did not work the following year either 'because immigration was a little bit harsh,' per the filing.

In another exchange, she stressed that 'we're in a new government' where 'things are a little bit more difficult.'

'We both gotta make sure that everything's done correctly,' Gonzalez said, per the affidavit.

She also said that 'Trump doesn't like this state because the government from here [...] the state defends us very much.'

Gonzalez allegedly said in recorded conversations that she used the money to buy property and other assets for herself and her children in the Dominican Republic, which she called 'my country.'

Leah Foley, the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said Gonzalez 'got rich off selling the American dream, all the while investing her money in another country.'

Foley said Gonzalez also allegedly defrauded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from 2019 through 2026, receiving more than $124,000 in benefits during that time.

Gonzalez, Daniels, Alejandro, Pugh and Tavares were arrested on Wednesday morning. Hill is already in state prison serving a sentence for a firearms offense.

The six women were scheduled to make their initial appearances in court Wednesday afternoon.

Posted by:Skidmark

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