Minister Pleads Guilty to Illegal Immigration Scheme

A press release from the New York United States Attorney's Office announces that a minister, Cameron Lloyd, has pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiring to commit visa fraud. This fraudulent scheme involved a false marriage scam that resulted in over $1 million to participants. The scam employed a number of participants who performed actions designed to fool U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (CIS). This organization was formerly known as the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS).

The scam originated with a local business named Help Preparers Professional Services (HPPS). The owner, Beverly Mozer-Browne, operated this business in Queens, New York. The business advertised services that would assist individuals with financial and legal concerns. However, those involved with HPPS were actually securing green cards and other permanent resident documents from CIS for their customers. Mozer-Brown conspired with several other participants as part of this scheme. Her brother, Phillip A. Browne, was a key participant as he worked for CIS as a District Adjudication Officer.

Lloyd's role was to perform bogus weddings between American citizens and illegal aliens. From there, HPPS would file green card applications for the illegal aliens. Phillip Browne would then approve the applications without requiring the illegal alien to appear for interviews, which is a normal procedure for obtaining a green card.

This scheme has been going on for approximately five years. Over this time, the participants have charged fees that exceed $1 million dollars. During his guilty plea, Lloyd confessed that he had signed blank marriage certificates and passed them along to Mozer-Browne and her associated at HPPS knowing that they planned to fraudulently obtain green cards.

Lloyd faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and hefty fines of $250,000 or more. Twenty-nine other defendants have been charged in association with this case. With Lloyd's guilty plea, 24 of the 29 charged have already pled guilty to the charges against them. Beverly Mozer-Browne and her brother Phillip have been charged but have not yet entered a plea to the court. The press release did not detail what their expected plea would be in the coming weeks.

This investigation employed several leading government agencies who have been working to expose the entirety of this system. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Inspector General, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office all aided in exploring this scheme.

Illegal immigration is certainly a controversial topic, especially this time of year as presidential candidates reveal their positions on the issue.

Sources:

New York United States Attorney's Office, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/July07/lloydpleapr.pdf