James Douglas Barding, Marriage Fraud, Missouri 2013

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A Jefferson City, Mo., attorney has been indicted for his role in a conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in order to evade immigration laws.

James Douglas Barding, 60, of Jefferson City, was charged in a superseding indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on April 24, 2013.

The superseding indictment adds Barding as a co-defendant with Oleksandr Nikolayevich Druzenko, also known as “Alex” or “Sasha,” 32, of Jefferson City, Patricia Anne Ewalt, 60, of El Paso, Texas, and Darya Chernova, 38, of Chandler, Ariz.

Barding, Druzenko, Ewalt and Chernova are charged with participating in a conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit marriage fraud, and to gain resident status and citizenship through false statements.

In addition to the conspiracy, Barding, Druzenko, Ewalt and Chernova are charged together in one count of marriage fraud. Druzenko and Ewalt are also charged together in three counts that are related to making false statements on immigration forms.

Barding, Druzenko and Chernova are also charged together in one count of attempting to unlawfully procure citizenship or naturalization.

According to the indictment, Barding (a married U.S. citizen) was having an affair with Chernova, a Ukrainian national who entered the United States on a student visa and attended Lincoln University before earning a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Barding allegedly assisted Chernova to enlist a U.S. citizen to marry her so that she could remain in the United States.

Defendant: James Douglas Barding

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit marriage fraud, and to gain resident status and citizenship through false statements, Marriage fraud, Attempting to unlawfully procure citizenship or naturalization

City and State: Jefferson City, Missouri

Date: April 24, 2013

Current Status: Indicted

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/jefferson-city-attorney-indicted-marriage-fraud-conspiracy