WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal jury has convicted a Jamaican woman of entering into a “sham marriage” with a Kansas soldier so she could get legal immigration status.
Twenty-eight-year-old Shannakay Hunter could get up to five years imprisonment on each count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud and lying to the government. The current New York resident is likely to get far less under sentencing guidelines.
The government contends her 2010 marriage to former Fort Riley soldier Joshua Priest was a fake arrangement to give her a green card and him $1,500 in extra monthly benefits for married soldiers.
Priest has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and wire fraud in a deal with the government for leniency in exchange for his testimony against Hunter.
