By: Kafi Rosenbaum
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, an Essex County woman and her son admitted conspiring to commit marriage fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From September 2016 through March 2021, Andrea Torres, 56, of Newark, and her sister, Regina Johnson, arranged and facilitated sham marriages for non-U.S. citizens who wished to remain in the United States despite the lack of legal status or proper documentation.
Officials say that Andrea Torres and Johnson recruited U.S. citizen potential spouses and paid them a fee in exchange for those U.S. citizens entering into sham marriages with Andrea Torres and Johnson’s non-citizen clients.
From March 2021 through June 2021, Andrea Torres’ son, Philip, also of Newark, began participating in the scheme by, among other things, officiating some of the sham marriages.
Andrea Torres and Johnson allegedly arranged for the “couples” to obtain fraudulent marriage licenses and even arranged and charged their clients for wedding ceremonies and after-parties that were staged to make the sham marriages appear legitimate.
Andrea Torres and Johnson admit that they further advised their clients to open joint bank accounts and to meet frequently with their U.S. spouses.
Clients were also alleged to have been encouraged to take photographs in a variety of locations and in different clothing to memorialize the relationship and to give the appearance of cohabitation, despite none of the clients ever residing or intending to reside with their U.S. spouses.
Newark officials also said that Andrea Torres and Johnson then helped their clients complete immigration forms to obtain permanent residency on the basis of materially false misrepresentations.
Johnson previously pleaded guilty to the charge in Count One of the superseding indictment.
On August 10, Andrea Torres pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to a two-count superseding indictment charging her and others with conspiracy to harbor non-U.S. citizens by orchestrating fraudulent marriages between the non-citizens and U.S. citizens.
Additionally, her son, Philip Torres, 27, pleaded guilty to Count Two of the superseding indictment.
Each count of conspiracy to which Andrea Torres and Philip Torres pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest.
Their sentencings are scheduled for Dec. 14, 2023.