迈克尔·凯西结婚戒指交换了，笑容满面的新娘和衣着考究的新郎的照片让这些婚姻看起来像是合法的。
MICHAEL CASEY Wedding rings were exchanged, and photos of a smiling bride and well-dressed groom made it look like these were legitimate marriages.
但联邦当局周三表示，这些仪式是一个精心策划、长达十年的婚姻欺诈团伙的一部分，该团伙在马萨诸塞州骗取了六人数百万美元。检察官指控六人——包括被指为团伙头目的珍妮弗·冈萨雷斯——参与了多达20桩婚姻，以帮助移民获得合法身份。
But federal authorities argued Wednesday that the ceremonies were part of an elaborate, decade-long marriage fraud ring that netted a half-dozen people in Massachusetts millions of dollars. Prosecutors charged six people, including the alleged ringleader Jennifer Gonzalez, with conducting as many as 20 marriages to help immigrants obtain legal status.
据称，另外五人由冈萨雷斯付钱参与这些婚姻——其中几人参与了多桩婚事。每桩婚姻向移民收取3.8万至4万美元。所有人均面临窝藏非法外国人、共谋窝藏非法外国人、共谋实施婚姻欺诈和婚姻欺诈等指控。
The other five were allegedly paid by Gonzalez to take part in the marriages — several of them taking part in multiple nuptials. Each marriage cost an immigrant from $38,000 to $40,000. All face charges including harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud.
“今天在此揭露的涉嫌行为，对那些按规矩办事的人来说是何等的侮辱，”美国联邦检察官利亚·福利对记者说。“看到一家以营利为目的的企业，其唯一目的就是帮助人们作弊、靠花钱插队，这对那些遵守我国法律的人来说，必定是极具冒犯性且令人心寒的。”六人中有五人于周三上午被捕，预计将于当天晚些时候在联邦法院出庭。第六名被告目前正在州监狱服刑，罪名涉及枪支犯罪。
“What an affront the alleged conduct revealed here today must be to those who play by the rules,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley told reporters. “To see a for-profit business whose sole purpose is helping people cheat and skip the line by simply paying for it must be so offensive and disheartening to those who follow our country’s laws.”Five of the six were arrested Wednesday morning and are expected to appear in federal court later in the day. A sixth defendant is currently in state prison serving a sentence for a firearms crime.
“冈萨雷斯女士靠出卖美国梦发了财，同时却把钱投资到另一个国家，”福利说，并详细说明冈萨雷斯涉嫌利用婚姻团伙的利润在多米尼加共和国购买企业和房地产。她是美国公民。
“Ms. Gonzalez got rich off selling the American Dream all the while investing her money in another country,” Foley said, detailing how Gonzalez allegedly used profits from the marriage ring to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic. She is an American citizen.
现年43岁、来自马萨诸塞州福尔里弗的冈萨雷斯的律师未能联系到置评。
An attorney for Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, Massachusetts, could not be reached for comment.
此次逮捕是打击婚姻欺诈的最新行动，正值特朗普政府加大对合法和非法移民的限制，并减少人们进入美国或成为公民的途径之际。
The arrests are the latest effort to crack down on marriage fraud and come as the Trump administration has increased restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and reduced the avenues available for people to enter the country or become a citizen.
8月份，11人因参与一项金额高达数百万美元的诈骗阴谋而被起诉。该阴谋旨在帮助数百名中国公民通过与美国公民假结婚的方式骗取绿卡。根据指控，美国公民被支付高达3万美元的费用，以与那些希望获得合法永久居留权的移民假结婚；这一持续了十年的诈骗活动共骗取了数千万美元。
In August, 11 people were charged with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to U.S. citizens. In that scheme, American citizens were paid as much as $30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status. The decade-long scheme netted tens of millions of dollars.
三年前，马萨诸塞州也曾发生过类似的诈骗案件。居住在洛杉矶的49岁菲律宾人马西阿里托·比奥尔·贝尼特斯（Marcialito Biol Benitez）承认自己犯有婚姻欺诈和移民文件欺诈罪。贝尼特斯承认自己经营了一家大规模的婚姻欺诈机构，专门为外国公民和美国公民安排假结婚。
Three years ago, a similar scheme was prosecuted in Massachusetts. Marcialito Biol Benitez, a 49-year-old Philippine national living in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. Benitez admitted operating a large-scale marriage fraud agency in which he arranged marriages between foreign nationals and American citizens.
在最新的这起案件中，检察官表示调查仍在进行中。他们在法庭文件中指出，部分被告在申请“补充营养援助计划”（SNAP）时谎称自己从未结婚。冈萨雷斯（Gonzalez）还被指控将获得的SNAP福利中的12万美元用于个人用途。检察官还指控这些被告涉嫌从事住房欺诈和失业救济欺诈行为。参与这些假结婚的移民本人并未受到任何指控。
In the latest case, prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing. They allege in the court documents that some of the defendants lied on applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , or SNAP, by falsely claiming they never had been married. Gonzalez is also accused of spending $120,000 she received in SNAP benefits. Prosecutors also accused the defendants of engaging in housing and unemployment fraud. None of the immigrants who entered into the marriages have been charged.
“婚姻欺诈破坏了那些旨在确保诚实、合法的人能够与美国公民结婚并享受美国所提供的所有权益的制度，”新英格兰地区国土安全部调查局的助理特别探员约翰·索亚雷斯（John Soares）对记者表示，“像今天被捕的这些骗子一样，他们的行为让这一过程变得更加复杂、更加不公平。”
“Marriage fraud undermines the processes that ensure honest, lawful individuals can marry United States citizens and enjoy everything the United States has to offer to them,” John Soares, assistant special agent in charge, Homeland Security Investigations in New England, told reporters. “Fraudsters, like the individuals arrested today, make that process more difficult.”