CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Kalee Ann Huff, 28, of Fairbury, Illinois, was sentenced to five years of federal probation, including one year on home detention, for marriage fraud and perjury.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 3, 2021, Huff was living in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, when she married a foreign national. As part of her guilty plea, Huff admitted that the marriage was part of a plan to keep the foreign national in the United States because his immigration visa was about to expire. Huff further admitted that she was pressured into entering the fake marriage because her family needed money, that she agreed to marry the foreign national in exchange for $10,000, but that she never directly received or spent any money from the scheme.
Huff and the foreign national planned to divorce once he obtained lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a Green Card. In March 2023, Huff and the foreign national were interviewed by U.S. immigration officials in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Huff and the foreign national unsuccessfully tried to trick the officials into believing their marriage was entered into in good faith and their relationship was genuine. The foreign national’s Green Card application was denied.
On August 8, 2023, immigration officers confronted Huff about the fake marriage scheme. Huff signed a statement admitting that she knowingly entered into the marriage for the purpose of evading U.S. immigration laws. On December 10, 2024, Huff appeared before a federal grand jury in Charleston, pursuant to a subpoena and a cooperation provision in the marriage fraud case against her. Huff admitted that she committed perjury during her grand jury testimony when she answered questions falsely about material facts relating to the government’s investigation.
The foreign national, Aakash Prakash Makwana, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2025, to aggravated identity theft. Makwana, 29, a citizen of India unlawfully residing in Ronceverte, admitted that he included the name and signature of a residential property manager without the individual’s authorization when he falsified a lease agreement as part of the marriage fraud scheme. Makwana is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2025.
Huff’s brother-in-law, Joseph Sanchez, helped to arrange the fake marriage. Sanchez, 33, of Fairbury, Illinois, pleaded guilty on January 29, 2025, to participating in an immigration marriage fraud conspiracy. Sanchez admitted that he pressured Huff to participate in the fake marriage scheme. Sanchez further admitted that he was promised the $10,000 as part of the scheme, but that he only received $3,000. Sanchez was sentenced to five years of federal probation on May 28, 2025.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the cases.
