Geez Louise.

[KittyPollitt 284]

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/10-Busted-in-Sham-Marriage-Scheme-131293359.html

Ten people in Connecticut have been charged with setting up fraudulent marriages to help Moroccan nationals come into the United States.

Federal Homeland Security agents began an investigation into the marriage scheme in November, 2010.

According to court documents, Fouad Elhadiri, of Waterbury, arranged a fraudulent marriage between his brother, a Moroccan citizen, and Stacey Brooks, of New Haven.

Brooks received several thousand dollars in 2007 and a trip to Morocco in exchange for marrying Elhadiri's brother, according to U.S. Attorney David Fein.

During the immigration process, Brooks allegedly provided letters claiming a long-term online relationship between the two. She even showed pictures from her trip to Morocco as proof that the couple had a relationship, Fein said.

Brooks married Elhadiri's brother in New Haven in May 2008, but never saw her husband again after the day of the wedding, according to court documents.

Federal investigators said the alleged scheme went on for more than 12 years with others involved.

Bahija Saadoun, of West Haven, is accused of entering into a sham wedding in 1999. Investigators said she also helped arrange marriages between her brother, Rachid Saadoun, and Ebony Kashann Jaynes, of New Haven, as well as arranging a fraudulent marriage between her sister, Fatima Saadoun, and Gino Kousa, of Bridgeport.

Also arrested were Khalid Kassem and Dawn Peck, of Madison, charged with entering into a sham marriage that Bahija Saadoun set up, investigators said. Saadoun's second husband, Hamid Kassem, was also charged with helping to orchestrate the marriage.

Brooks, Peck and Jaynes all took money and a trip to Morocco in exchange for marrying the foreign nationals, investigators said

All of the suspects face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

[Basalt 25]

Oh man.....!!! Out of the 195 countries; why did it have to be Morocco.. This sucks.

Well I guess this makes everyone look bad, and people with legitimate relationships will keep getting scrutinized and beat up because of those knuckle heads.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Basalt

[Barbara J 115]

http://www.nbcconnec...-131293359.html

Ten people in Connecticut have been charged with setting up fraudulent marriages to help Moroccan nationals come into the United States.

Federal Homeland Security agents began an investigation into the marriage scheme in November, 2010.

According to court documents, Fouad Elhadiri, of Waterbury, arranged a fraudulent marriage between his brother, a Moroccan citizen, and Stacey Brooks, of New Haven.

Brooks received several thousand dollars in 2007 and a trip to Morocco in exchange for marrying Elhadiri's brother, according to U.S. Attorney David Fein.

During the immigration process, Brooks allegedly provided letters claiming a long-term online relationship between the two. She even showed pictures from her trip to Morocco as proof that the couple had a relationship, Fein said.

Brooks married Elhadiri's brother in New Haven in May 2008, but never saw her husband again after the day of the wedding, according to court documents.

Federal investigators said the alleged scheme went on for more than 12 years with others involved.

Bahija Saadoun, of West Haven, is accused of entering into a sham wedding in 1999. Investigators said she also helped arrange marriages between her brother, Rachid Saadoun, and Ebony Kashann Jaynes, of New Haven, as well as arranging a fraudulent marriage between her sister, Fatima Saadoun, and Gino Kousa, of Bridgeport.

Also arrested were Khalid Kassem and Dawn Peck, of Madison, charged with entering into a sham marriage that Bahija Saadoun set up, investigators said. Saadoun's second husband, Hamid Kassem, was also charged with helping to orchestrate the marriage.

Brooks, Peck and Jaynes all took money and a trip to Morocco in exchange for marrying the foreign nationals, investigators said

All of the suspects face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

And you wonder why USCIS is cracking down on Immigration just goes to show hey and this is why we innocent and legal people are having such a hard time.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Barbara J

[bigdog 376]

Everyone else will suffer, it was slow enough already. Smile, Smile.

[nicky&imad 16]

well isn't that just fantastic!!!! so much for any one going through a possible smooth process

[Ban Hammer 12,880]

one post removed per op request.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Why is this not good? You do not want frauds to be caught? Strange.

I grew up in a place where rattlesnakes were common. Every so often we would kill one up near the house and my sisters would proceed to tip toe around for a few days looking for snakes everywhere. I would ask "why are you walking so stupid?" Because you killed a snake here yesterday. "yeah, but...one less snake now that two days ago"

Morocco is rife with visa fraud. when they learn to catch the bad guys it will be easier for the good guys.

[KittyPollitt 284]

Why is this not good? You do not want frauds to be caught? Strange.

I grew up in a place where rattlesnakes were common. Every so often we would kill one up near the house and my sisters would proceed to tip toe around for a few days looking for snakes everywhere. I would ask "why are you walking so stupid?" Because you killed a snake here yesterday. "yeah, but...one less snake now that two days ago"

Morocco is rife with visa fraud. when they learn to catch the bad guys it will be easier for the good guys.

Gary, it's not good that it happened at all. It makes me sick. I agree with you that they need to learn to catch the bad guys, but more likely than not, this news making event will cause more blanket denials out of Casablanca. And that sucks for honest couples. Not good at all.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Gary, it's not good that it happened at all. It makes me sick. I agree with you that they need to learn to catch the bad guys, but more likely than not, this news making event will cause more blanket denials out of Casablanca. And that sucks for honest couples. Not good at all.

Its necessary Squeaky. I cannot even begin to describe to you what happens when you have a really bad apple. I had posted something earlier but just decided that it was too painful to even read what I wrote. I can honestly say that the level of fraud is deafening much farther past the embassy. It continues on with the 10 year card and the citizenship application. I have seen women fighting for constructive service ( where the american wife cannot locate her immigrant spouse ) and the immigrant spouse has filed fake vawa, recorded the american, baited, emotionally abused and cheated on the american spouse, with both the north african friends of the immigrant and family of the spouse completely complicit in the fraud and the american is the last to know. There is a reason that the department of homeland security is examining these applications much farther past the embassy because its not just embassy level fraud, its a general feeling of apathy inside the society towards women from other cultures defrauded by these guys. People from their cultures who actually reach out to try to help the Americans are called SHEKAMAS because if you are from that society such as Moroccan or Algerian or Tunisian, you are supposed to side with the immigrant and not the american because its a very us against them attitude. Why are the embassies tough? Because although these people just got caught, this fraud is rampant, common place and plagues specifically Morocco but its not to say that other less fraud active embassies ( which are rapidly catching up). This is very common place and you need to carefully read this.. the result of a TWELVE YEAR STING.

The kindest way to say it is like this. Until you are personally the victim of this, whether it be complicit economic abuse, complicit financial fraud and manipulation and the couple it with physical and emotional abuse and you are a petitioner for someone, its easy to just look at your own situation and then never think it could happen to you. When you actually have a society wide view of none of this being wrong, that defrauding the US government of immigration benefit and its not seen as wrong, thats when it becomes an embassy problem, with a situation where there are loving couples.. but please squeaky, you are not seeing the "real" marriages that the embassy sees slipping through where fraud is commited again the US spouse but USCIS does. Its not just paid marriages, its systematic view of visa fraud, financial fraud and the emotional abuse of countless US petitioners. The embassies may clamp down and yes it may be harder to get through the visas, but these visa stings are not why Casa is tough. Casa is tough because they have to be and because there have been alot of American women defrauded at the stateside level, with missing spouses and American petitioners trying to serve constructive service ( unable to locate immigrant spouses who have take off post immigration benefit)

You should be supportive of these stings and not take the other look at it. Some women are actually saved from the embassies and USCIS taking a very hard look at their marriages. Often the embassy has access to other data mining information and they know things the American does not know and they save that woman alot of heartache. It truly goes either way. I will say that it is horrible for the American to have to shoulder the costs of a divorce after a spouse has received their either 10 year card or US citizenship because too often, once the immigration benefit has been received some of the immigrants take off and leave the responsibility for a divorce on the shoulders of the petitioning american spouse.

I personally applaud the US embassy, USCIS and homeland security for being so ontop of visa fraud. They need to harder on these petitions and not easier and honestly, if a relationship is a real one, it will withstand the scruitiny of everyone. The scrutiny is absolutely necessary. You need to care about the Americans going through this process and understand that a blanket sweep and raid like this has little bearing on why Casa and now other embassies are so strict. They are strict because they know, via statistics and they see people petitioned going back and bringing other people through the embassies. Raids like this have very very little affect on the daily approval or disapproval of petitions.

[EAbbas 213]

We see this and understand why its taking so long for us.. while we hate the wait we do understand and welcome the extra scrutiny because we are genuine and in the end the result is a happy marriage... the AP time for MENA countries is very frustrating and hard to understand because all you get is pending answers but my husband and I have often said that due to ppl like this our case will take more time... the job of the CO is to protect the american citizen and the lands of USA against ppl like this and if during any investigation they have doubts its their job to decide if that person coming will be coming for the wife/SO or the opportunities in USA and gain their green card with fraud.

I hate to see stories like that because its devestating on the family of the USC... financially, emotionally, and the typical i told you so's from others that had questions in the beginning. Not to mention they prob already have a plan in place to immigrate other family or even the other wife/fiance waiting in the sidelines.

I hate being in AP we both do... but as frustrating as it is.. we know and understand why...

[Miss smarty pants 84]

I think Sarah was saying it sux things like this happen. Not that they got caught.

I think Sarah was saying it sux things like this happen. Not that they got caught.

[KittyPollitt 284]

I think Sarah was saying it sux things like this happen. Not that they got caught.

I think Sarah was saying it sux things like this happen. Not that they got caught.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

I think Sarah was saying it sux things like this happen. Not that they got caught.

I think Sarah was saying it sux things like this happen. Not that they got caught.

I think that all of this nonsense is completely accepted within the culture. You will never meet an american that thinks so. But if you are friends with a moroccan group of people and one of them is married to an american who is making things hard for him... its ohhhhhhhhhhhh MESKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNN that big roula , mahboula , hamaaka bagara is making MESSSSSSSSSSSSSSKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS life hard. Its funny as hell until its you with the guy who is whining to everyone about how HORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE his life is being married to the american he is married to and if you dont believe this is a constant. I have an island in Jamaica that I want to sell you for 50 dollars. This attitude about using Americans for papers both willingly and unwillingly is so pervasive that of course, ICE is going to have a case of the #### about almost all of these marriages. Its awful, the americans that are doing this have no scruples to sell the most sacred thing about them, their vows and the Moroccans doing it dont apparently care about following legal channels. The real bastards are the men who sell love and companionship and make promises to love and take care of their american spouses, selling them dreams and from the minute they hit American soil are planning their way out. Coupled with the real view from many in the moroccan and north african community that these marriages arent real to begin with, it makes treacherous travelling for the American that signed for the guy. He wont let her go until he is done with her and while some relationships dont go this way, you wont know that yours is until he naturalizes and you watch what he does within months of naturalizing.. Its called the 5 year plan.. very very very few stop at 10 year cards anymore..

If you are one of the lucky ones that this DIDNT happen to, at least make a path for the information to reach the women that it is happening to. Red flags? The very existance of a relationship which is completely outside of cultural norms should be enough to begin with. Why any one is shocked by this is beyond me? Its been going on 12 years according to ICE.. THANK GOD FOR ICE AND HOMELAND SECURITY AND USCIS.. Their vigiliance is the only consolation for any women wronged by this.

[Golden Gate 530]

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...enough of your Moroccan hatred! Haven't we heard enough of it already???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[momof1 205]

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...enough of your Moroccan hatred! Haven't we heard enough of it already???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

+1000000000

I guess my husband of 9 years is going to leave me when he naturalizes next year too looooool We were married and living together for 7 years without a green card.... If he was going anywhere he would have left a long time ago.