Russian Citizen Charged in Marriage Fraud Scheme

PITTSBURGH – A citizen of Russia, residing in West Mifflin, PA has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The one-count Indictment named Ramil Kunakkulov, 32, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment, Kunakkulov entered in to a sham marriage with Jamie Lucille Mattocks, so that he could obtain permanent legal residence in the United States.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than five years in prison, a fine of not to exceed $250,000.00, and a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, or a combination thereof. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael Leo Ivory is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty