Nepalese Man Sentenced on Marriage Fraud Charges

Bangor, Maine:  A Nepalese man currently residing in California was sentenced today in Bangor for marriage fraud and conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.

U.S. District Court Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Eilove Shrestha, 28, to one month in prison followed by two years of supervised release.  Shrestha pleaded guilty on July 8, 2019.

According to court records, on June 20, 2018, Shrestha, a Nepalese citizen then lawfully in the United States in a temporary status, agreed to pay a United States citizen $13,000 to marry him so he could obtain permanent resident status, also known as, a “green card.”  Four days later, Shrestha flew to Maine and the two were married the next day.  Before and after the wedding, Shrestha paid the United States citizen hundreds of dollars via wire transfers, while he continued to live and work in another state. 

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Brewer Police Department.