California man pleads guilty to arranging hundreds of sham marriages

BOSTON (AP) — A California man has pleaded guilty to arranging hundreds of sham marriages in an effort to circumvent immigration laws. That is according to federal prosecutors. Forty-nine-year-old Marcialito Biol Benitez, a Philippine national living in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper scheduled sentencing for Jan. 10. The U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said Benitez operated a large-scale marriage fraud agency in which he arranged marriages between foreign nationals and American citizens. Prosecutors alleged the agency charged up to $35,000 to submit false paperwork substantiating the sham marriages.