Katherine De Leon Evaristo, Immigration Fraud, Washington 2022

Seattle, WA – A shocking case of betrayal of public trust has come to light as a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer was sentenced for her role in a sham marriage immigration scheme.

Katherine De Leon Evaristo, a 39-year-old resident of Burien, was sentenced to 2 years of probation by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones for immigration fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. The former CBP officer was found to have abused her position of trust to obtain benefits for her sham spouse and herself.

Evaristo was accused of entering into a sham marriage with a childhood acquaintance from the Philippines in exchange for $20,000. Half of the payment was made at the start of the scheme, and the other half was due when the fake spouse obtained citizenship. In 2012, Evaristo applied for a fiancé visa for the fake spouse, who traveled to the U.S. in 2015, and the couple was ‘married’ in San Diego.

The investigation began when Evaristo improperly used her access to a federal law enforcement database to check on the immigration status of her sham husband. CBP officers looking into the improper access knew Evaristo was dating another person and so began to unravel the sham marriage scheme. When Evaristo was interviewed in 2021, she admitted the scheme.

Evaristo was indicted in September 2021 and pleaded guilty in May 2022. In recommending a probationary sentence, prosecutors noted that Evaristo is the single parent of infant twins. ‘Evaristo has experienced significant consequences of her crime that go beyond a custodial sentence: She lost her job at CBP—a job she spent years securing and that afforded her a comfortable income—and now works a lower-wage warehouse job,’ prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

Evaristo’s case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of integrity in public service. ‘As evidenced by the outcome of this investigation, CBP OPR and our partners are committed to identifying and mitigating threats,’ said Office of Professional Responsibility Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Paul Crawford, Seattle, Washington.

The case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility (CBP-OPR), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Detection National Security Unit, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sok Jiang and Lauren Watts Staniar.

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