A Kenyan woman, Margaret Kimani, 30, of Worcester, Massachusetts, was sentenced to one year in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to defraud the United States by seeking to become a lawful permanent resident through a marriage fraud conspiracy.
Bangor, Maine – Margaret Kimani was convicted after a jury trial in December 2013. According to court documents, she came to the United States on a visitor’s visa in 2001, and after her visa expired in 2003, she paid a U.S. citizen from Maine to marry her.
She and the Maine resident then filed documents with U.S. immigration authorities to adjust her immigration status so she could stay permanently in the country. After the U.S. citizen backed out of the scheme, Kimani filed a petition under the Violence Against Women Act, which allows aliens who are subject to abuse to apply for permanent residence without the knowledge or consent of their U.S. spouse. In support of that petition, she filed false documents to make it appear that her U.S. citizen spouse had abused her.
Relying on her false claims, immigration authorities granted her petition and awarded her lawful permanent resident status. This case is one of many in a major marriage fraud conspiracy investigation that resulted in felony convictions against 28 defendants in Maine since 2010.
The investigation, launched in 2005 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), identified more than 40 sham marriages in the Lewiston/Auburn and Newport areas between U.S. citizens from Maine and nationals of Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Cameroon. The Maine residents were paid to marry the foreign nationals and assist them in seeking a green card.
In addition to Kimani, three other defendants – Emmanuel Musiitwa, Grace Nyaga, and Jecinta Wambui Ngige – all filed false claims of spousal abuse with U.S. immigration authorities. These were the first prosecutions in the United States for fraudulently misusing the immigration provisions of the Violence Against Women Act.
Mandatory Facts: Defendant/Respondent Name: Margaret Kimani, Exact Criminal Charges: Conspiring to defraud the United States by seeking to become a lawful permanent resident through a marriage fraud conspiracy, City and State: Bangor, Maine, Exact Date: December 15, 2013, Sentence or Outcome: One year in prison and three years of supervised release.
Related Federal Cases
- Malik Delima, Credit Card Fraud Conspiracy, Maine 2015 · Ohio
- Sothy Khiev, Marriage Fraud, Maine 2015 · Massachusetts
- Jonathan Day, Conspiracy to Distribute Bath Salts, Fentanyl, and Heroin, Maine 2015 · Washington
- Donald Vigue, Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy, Maine 2024 · Rhode Island
- Luis Medina, Social Security Document Fraud, Maine 2023 · New Hampshire
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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