Updated Jun 23, 2009 - 8:11 pm
Feds: Thai Ginger owner paid workers to marry
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Worried her relatives and employees would get kicked out of the country, federal prosecutors say a local restaurant owner arranged fake marriages to keep them here.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Thai Ginger restaurant owner Varee Bradford and her employees set up several marriages by paying American citizens to marry Thai nationals.
Bradford, who operates five Thai Ginger restaurants in Seattle and its Eastside suburbs was arrested at her Issaquah home Tuesday on one count of immigration fraud conspiracy and three counts of immigration document fraud. She was released on personal recognizance Tuesday afternoon after pleading not guilty in U.S. District Court.
A grand jury indictment cites four marriages between Thai Ginger workers who have U.S. citizenship and Thai nationals, three of whom were Bradford's relatives. Bradford paid three of the workers $10,000 to more than $20,000, while another, who had recently been promoted to management, received a loan of $3,780, the indictment said.
Three of the workers were men and one was a woman. They were told the marriages would only have to last two years, until the Thai nationals received their green cards.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Otake said after the court hearing that authorities believe the U.S. citizens knew the sham marriages were illegal and more charges could be forthcoming. She declined to say what prompted the investigation, which began in 2005.
Otake also said Bradford's motives were financial, in that the scheme allowed her relatives to remain in the country and continue working at her restaurant.
She noted that a sham marriage investigation involving Vietnamese nationals in 2006 resulted in the government temporarily halting the issuance of visas to fiances from Vietnam.
"The victims in this case are the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who want to come to this country," Otake said.
Also charged on Tuesday was Porramin Tangchaiwanna, a Thai Ginger employee accused of helping to set up a fifth, attempted marriage between an undercover immigration agent and a Thai woman last year. He remained in custody on an immigration hold after pleading not guilty and could face deportation.
Bradford's attorney, Jesse Cantor, and her husband declined to comment Tuesday.
Bradford faces a maximum prison term of five years on the conspiracy charge and 10 years on each of the document fraud counts. Tangchaiwanna is only charged with immigration fraud conspiracy, and could face a maximum five years.
The indictment includes a criminal forfeiture allegation, meaning the government is seeking to seize any property Bradford may have purchased with proceeds from criminal activity.
Lorie Dankers, a Seattle spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said she could not discuss the immigration status of anyone involved in the case. Otake noted that any who received green cards could have them revoked.
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