A Nigerian pastor Joshua Shonubi has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Baltimore, Maryland for allegedly arranging fraudulent marriages between foreign nationals and US citizens.
The 50-year-old, who resides in Bowie, Maryland is to be charged for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and visa fraud and for presenting false documents to a US government agency, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain permanent resident status for foreign nationals by arranging marriages to US citizens.
A statement last week by the Justice Department said the indictment was returned on October 20.
Shonubi was expected to have an initial appearance on October 23 in US District Court in Baltimore before Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson.
The indictment was announced by US Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek Barron among others.
“According to the seven-count indictment, from at least January 2014 through January 2021, Shonubi, pastor of NewLife City Church, Inc. in Hyattsville, Maryland, engaged in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain immigration benefits for foreign nationals by arranging their marriage to United States citizens who served as their sponsors for permanent residence in the United States. The indictment alleges that Shonubi received thousands of dollars from foreign nationals in exchange for connecting them with U.S. citizen sponsors and facilitating their marriages,” the statement by the Justice Department read.
The indictment also alleges that Shonubi officiated some of the fraudulent marriages or arranged for a civil marriage ceremony to be performed in Virginia, adding that he created and signed at least 38 reference letters on NewLife letterhead in support of foreign nationals’ applications for permanent residence falsely stating: his relation to the parties; the nature of the marriage; his role in providing spiritual guidance or counselling; and his belief as to the romantic nature of the marriage.
If convicted, Shonubi faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and marriage fraud and a maximum of five years in federal prison for each of six counts of presenting false documents to a federal government agency.
