Local sailors accused of conspiracy, marriage fraud and false claims

[Blue_Tires]

Source: WAVY-TV (Norfolk, Va.)

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY.com) -- Hampton Roads sailors on board ships like USS Wasp and USS Iwo Jima are just a few of the people named in three federal indictments.

Navy special agent Sam Worth of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service says 33 people are charged with Conspiracy, Marriage Fraud and False Claims. Worth says the men married foreign nationals they met in Virginia Beach for an increase in their housing benefits.

"One individual taking advantage of the system and letting others in the command know about it," said Special Agent Worth.

In turn, Worth says the women, most of them from Russia, got a quicker path to citizenship. Earlier this week, people like Molly got a surprise.

"I walked into the face of an undercover cop the only reason I know he was an undercover police officer was the forensics kit in his hand and the patrol car parked out front," she said. One of the 17 sailors arrested lives in same apartment building as Molly.



Read more: http://www.wavy.com/global/story.asp?s=8184310

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there has been a lot of coverage of this locally...essentially, the eastern european women get citizenship, while the sailors were scamming the navy for the increased financial benefits of being married...

[Trillo]

1. Thank the stars they didn't have children.

If they had, NIS would have had to get CPS to whisk them off to a safe, cell-phoneless location for extended examination, interrogation, and deprogramming.

[Arctic Dave]

2. Duh, This is not new or is it news.

This type of shit has been going on since sailors had ships. They only difference I see now is that the women are from Russia and not the Phllipines.

STOOOOOOPID!

[Old Smokey]

3. I wish they would go after Halliburton and Blackwater

with as much gusto as they went after these sailors.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. WTF?

Where's the crime?

'Molly' mentioned her neighbor as one of the arrested, who had a Russian wife and a 6 month old child. Is it against the law to marry a Russian? Is it even possible that the miniscule increase in housing allotment will offset the costs of being married and having kids?

Again,

WTF?

[pinerow]

5. you make a very good point....

nt

[bean fidhleir]

6. The estimated net loss to the military is *$500K*. Why am I not impressed?

Could it be the billions that the military shrugs off as "lost"?

[gulfcoastliberal]

7. Never mind Parsons, Bechtel, Titan, KBR, Halliburton, etc.

This is serious, major-league waste fraud & abuse!

[darue]

8. oh for fuck's sake, leave these people alone! hang blackwater, hellaburten etc.

however, why are there SO MANY green-0card Russians in this country? Seems like there must be millions and my understanding is that only a few 10's of thousands of immigrants are let in per year, so...