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Federal agents bust 'one stop shop for bogus marriages' in Brevard County

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Federal agents busted what they called a "one stop shop for bogus marriages" Thursday.

Investigators said two people would arrange marriages between dozens of Brevard County residents and people from foreign countries to help them secure their U.S. residency.

Authorities said the operation had been going on for more than two years, and it was uncovered when a Homeland Security agent was at the clerk's office on an unrelated matter and witnessed what he thought was a fraudulent marriage.

According to Homeland Security investigators, Denis Yakovlev and Meghan Toole were matchmakers for non-U.S. citizens looking for permanent residency for a fee.

Federal agents converged onto their Cocoa Beach residence Wednesday with a search warrant.

“I knew something big was going on. I thought maybe drugs,” said neighbor Grace Kinman.

Homeland Security met with the Brevard County Clerk of Court and uncovered what appeared to be an unusually high number of foreigners from former soviet countries.

Investigators said Yakovlev would charge the foreigner a fee, pay the U.S. citizen and keep a fee. Yakovlev would then do all the necessary immigration paperwork, authorities said.

According to investigators, before the people arrived at the clerk's office, the U.S. citizen and the person they were supposed to marry had never met.

“What was once an immigration issue, has now morphed into a national security issue. The United States government takes these violations very seriously and they prosecute these cases with vigor,” said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.

Undercover agents participated in one of the fictitious ceremonies at the Brevard County Clerk of Court's Office in Merritt Island before charging the suspects with encouraging or inducing an alien to enter the U.S.

Agents said they believe that Yakovlev and Toole helped arrange as many as 40 fictitious marriages. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would not say whether others would be charged.

“What you might expect to see is the aliens engaged in this marriage fraud scheme will be deported, and the U.S. citizens will be prosecuted,” Sheaffer said.