A Nepalese man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to charges of marriage fraud and conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.
U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank said that Eilove Shrestha, 28, was in the United States in June 2018 on a temporary visa when he agreed to pay a United States citizen $13,000 to marry him.
Shrestha flew from California to Maine, where the marriage took place in June 2018, court records state. The marriage allowed Shrestha to obtain permanent resident status, also known as a green card.
“Before and after the wedding, Shrestha paid the United States citizen hundreds of dollars via wire transfers, while he continued to live and work in another state,” Frank said in the release. Shrestha lived in Cupertino, California.
Shrestha faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced at a later date.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Brewer Police Department.
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