Kalee Ann Huff, 27, of Fairbury, IL, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Feb. 20 to marriage fraud and perjury.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on Sept. 3, 2021, Huff married a foreign national in Greenbrier County, WV. Huff admitted that she agreed to marry the foreign national in exchange for $10,000, as part of a plan to keep him in the United States as his immigration visa was about to expire. Huff further admitted that she and the foreign national planned to divorce once he obtained lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a Green Card.
Huff also admitted that she was pressured to enter the fake marriage scheme by two members of her family with whom she was living in Greenbrier County, because the family needed money to pay for household expenses. One of the two family members, brother-in-law Joseph Sanchez, pleaded guilty on Jan. 29, 2025, to participating in an immigration marriage fraud conspiracy. Sanchez admitted to helping to arrange the fake marriage, with the understanding that half of the $10,000 would be paid upon the marriage being final and the other $5,000 would be paid once the foreign national received his Green Card. Huff admitted that only $5,000 of the promised amount was ever paid and that she never directly received or spent the money.
On Oct. 17, 2021, Huff signed a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Huff listed her address as an apartment in White Sulphur Springs. Huff admitted that address was the foreign national’s and that she never lived there, and that he caused to be filed a falsified lease agreement with immigration officials listing her as a co-tenant of the apartment.
On Mar. 8, 2023, Sanchez drove Huff and the foreign national to Pittsburgh, PA. The purpose of the trip was for Huff and the foreign national to attend an interview with U.S. immigration officials and trick those officials into believing the marriage was entered into in good faith and that the relationship between Huff and the foreign national was genuine. The scheme was unsuccessful, and the foreign national’s application was denied. Huff admitted that the foreign national coached her on how to lie about their relationship and marriage in advance of the interview.
On Aug. 8, 2023, immigration officers confronted Huff about the fake marriage scheme, and she signed a statement admitting that she knowingly entered into the marriage for the purpose of evading U.S. immigration laws. Huff also told the officers that the foreign national had threatened her by stating she would go to prison if she did not continue helping him obtain a Green Card.
On Dec. 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.
Huff is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Sanchez, 33, of Fairbury, IL, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
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).
United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the cases.
