Albanian National and American Wife Charged with Making False Statements and Marriage Fraud

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Albanian national was charged with marriage fraud, and he and his wife, an American citizen, were both charged with making false statements on forms submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba recently announced the charges against Elvis Harizaj, 25, of Cherry Hill, and Natasha Flores, 27, of Newark. USCIS played a valuable role in the investigation.

According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court, Harizaj is a citizen of Albania and entered into a sham marriage with Flores to obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States. On forms submitted to USCIS, Harizaj falsely stated that he lived with Flores, and Flores falsely stated that she had never been married before. Flores, in fact, had previously been married to a Brazilian national who obtained U.S. citizenship based on his marriage to Flores. In addition to the false statements charge, Harizaj was charged with marriage fraud.

The counts of false statements and marriage fraud both have a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph McFarlane in Camden.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Protecting the integrity of the immigration process is a priority for USCIS. To report suspected immigration benefit fraud or abuse to USCIS, please use the USCIS Tip Form.

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