Grandmother gets 44 months in green-card scam
A Texas grandmother who ran a scheme in which relatives married scores of foreigners seeking to stay in the United States is going to prison.
72-year-old Maria Refugia Camarillo of Fort Worth was sentenced Wednesday to 44 months in federal prison.
She pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with immigration documents.
Prosecutors say Camarillo recruited her children, three teenage grandchildren and others to wed foreigners who paid her up to $12,000 each. Once married, clients could obtain a green card and later U.S. citizenship.
Camarillo's attorney, William Zachary, had sought home confinement for his ailing client, saying more than three years in prison would be like a life sentence.
AP | ANABELLE GARAY | Posted 11.23.2009 | Home