CAMDEN, N.J. — A Cherry Hill man and a Newark woman are facing federal charges after an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark uncovered an alleged sham marriage intended to secure immigration benefits.
Elvis Harizaj, 25, an Albanian national, was charged with marriage fraud. Both Harizaj and his wife, 27-year-old Natasha Flores, a U.S. citizen, were charged with making false statements on immigration forms submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Federal prosecutors allege that Harizaj and Flores misrepresented their living arrangements and personal histories to USCIS. Harizaj allegedly claimed he lived with Flores, while Flores falsely stated she had never been married. Investigators later determined Flores had previously been married to a Brazilian national who also obtained U.S. citizenship through his marriage to her…