BOISE - Victor Raul Fenesan, 31, and Claudia Luminita Beian, 33, both of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to federal immigration fraud charges based on their fraudulent marriages to United States citizens, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The Romanian nationals were charged in two separate federal indictments. Fenesan pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a United States Visa by fraud; Beian pleaded guilty to Unlawful Procurement of Citizenship.
According to plea agreements filed in the cases, Fenesan and Beian each admitted that, in 2004, they both married U.S. citizens for the sole purpose of obtaining immigration benefits. Neither Fenesan nor Beian resided with their spouses as husband and wife, but rather continued to reside with each other. In April 2005, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted both Fenesan and Beian lawful permanent resident Visas, which they would not have received had they disclosed the fraudulent nature of their marriages. In February 2010, Beian obtained naturalization as a United States citizen as a result of her fraudulent marriage. As part of her plea agreement, Beian stipulated to an order revoking her citizenship. Fenesan did not attempt to obtain U.S. citizenship.
The defendants each face up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release, in addition to administrative removal proceedings.
Fenesan and Beian are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 21, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The cases were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
