CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Fairbury, Illinois woman has pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and perjury after admitting she entered into a sham marriage to help a foreign national stay in the United States.
Kalee Ann Huff, 27, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday, acknowledging that she agreed to marry the foreign national on September 3, 2021, in Greenbrier County, in exchange for $10,000.
The marriage was intended to keep the individual in the country after his visa was set to expire. Huff also admitted that she and the foreign national planned to divorce once he obtained a Green Card.
According to court records, Huff was pressured into the scheme by two family members she was living with in Greenbrier County. One of them, her brother-in-law Joseph Sanchez, 33, pleaded guilty on January 29, 2025, to his role in an immigration marriage fraud conspiracy.
Sanchez helped arrange the fake marriage, expecting half of the money to be paid upon the wedding and the remainder after the Green Card was secured. Huff admitted that only $5,000 was ever paid and that she never directly received any of it.
As part of the scheme, Huff falsely listed an apartment in White Sulphur Springs as her residence on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document and participated in a staged immigration interview in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 2023.
The foreign national coached Huff on how to lie, but the deception failed, and the Green Card application was denied.
On August 8, 2023, immigration officials confronted Huff, and she signed a statement admitting to the fraudulent marriage.
She also revealed that the foreign national had threatened her, warning that she would go to prison if she did not continue helping him obtain permanent residency.
Huff later committed perjury during grand jury testimony on December 10, 2024, by providing false statements about key details of the investigation.
She is scheduled for sentencing on June 12, 2025, and faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Sanchez is set to be sentenced on May 30, 2025, and faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced the plea, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing.
