An illegal immigrant from Jamaica, who allegedly overstayed her tourism visa by more than a decade, is accused of committing marriage fraud to stay in the country, joining the Army to expedite becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, and then fraudulently claiming disability benefits through veterans’ services.
Britney Sherene Curry, 26, a Jamaican national living in Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted by a grand jury on federal charges of conspiring to commit immigration fraud, making false statements under oath in immigration documents, unlawfully procuring U.S. citizenship, mail fraud, and wire fraud, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.
Authorities say Curry entered the United States on a six-month B-2 travel visa in 2015 but never left. Curry allegedly paid a third party to arrange a fraudulent marriage between herself and an American citizen for the purpose of avoiding deportation. According to charging documents, Curry and her purported husband met for the first time on the day of their marriage and never lived together before or after the nuptials.
Following their marital union, per prosecutors, Curry became a lawful permanent resident of the United States and then joined the Army, which allowed her to apply to become a naturalized U.S. citizen immediately, instead of having to wait the three-year minimum.
