Kakeland Barnes, Marriage Fraud, Missouri 2016

Kansas City, Mo. – A local woman has pleaded guilty to her role in a marriage fraud conspiracy that brought in thousands of dollars for her and her co-conspirators.

Kakeland Barnes, 37, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to the charges contained in an Aug. 31, 2016, federal indictment.

Barnes admitted that she participated in a conspiracy to assist African nationals in circumventing immigration laws by arranging fraudulent marriages.

Co-defendants Delmar Dixon, 49, Shakeisha Harrison, 37, and Traci R. Porter, 44, all of Kansas City, also have pleaded guilty to their roles in the marriage fraud conspiracy.

In addition to the conspiracy, Dixon pleaded guilty to falsely swearing in an immigration matter. Dixon charged the African nationals $1,000 upfront for his services, which included providing them U.S. citizen spouses.

The African nationals were additionally required to pay $500 to the spouse at the time of the wedding, and an additional $500 immediately after completion of the wedding.

They were required to pay their spouses $250 each month after the weddings until the immigration process was complete.

Barnes is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Moore.

It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Fraud Detection and National Security.