Ebony Walton married at age 18 and was not even unaware of it. When a New York woman by the name of Ebony Walton tried to obtain a marriage license last summer, she was stunned to learn that she got married 18 years ago to a man she never met. Ebony Walton later learned that her look-alike and drug-addicted cousin, stole her ID and took part in a sham marriage in order to get a Pakistani man a green card.
Ebony Walton married at 18 to a man she has never met, thanks to a drug-abusing relative. Last summer, Ebony Walton and the love of her life tried to obtain a marriage license in New York ahead of their big wedding ceremony.
The 35-year-old from Harlem was told by the Clerc she was about to commit bigamy by trying to marry two men. Surprised by the official’s words, Ebony Walton and her fiancé demanded an explanation, according to the New York Post.
The couple was told that on December 10, 1997, an 18-year-old Ebony Walton, wed a man from Gujranwala, Pakistan in a civil ceremony. But there is a problem with what the government worker told Miss Walton – she does not remember meeting, befriending, dating or marrying a man from the Middle East.
Ebony Walton rapidly started investigating the matter and learned that one of her cousins, who was living with her family in 1997, stole her ID and other documents in order to marry the Pakistani man.
Walton told Judge John Spooner of the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings that her cousin was a drug addict at the time and would do anything for money in order to feed her addiction.
It was revealed that the unnamed cousin was paid by the unnamed man who was undocumented at the time to take part in a sham of marriage in order to obtain a green card.
According to Dan Lane, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigator, there are about 60,000 immigrants who exchange thousands of dollars for fake marriages in America. The expert explained:
By some government estimates, as many as 60,000 of the 200,000 or so marriages by which illegal immigrants, or those on temporary visas, become lawful permanent residents and secure green cards are fraudulent.To be sure, an estimated 40,000 applicants are rejected out of hand for simple lack of proper documentation. Yet, of the 200,000 approved applications, the government investigates less than 1 percent for possible fraud. Even fewer petitions lead to criminal prosecutions of U.S. citizens, who conceivably could face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Miss Walton provided photographs that showed that she looks like the cousin who stole her identity. The bride-to-be and one-time divorcee also confessed that as a teenager she was careless with her official documents, often left them lying around the house, which would explain how her cousin obtained them for her immigration scam.
On February 26, Walton and her fiancé appeared in front of Judge John Spooner, who ruled that she was indeed the victim of identity theft and approved her “new” marriage. Spooner said:
“Her two cousins looked enough like her that they could have used her identification card.”
There is a possibility that the Pakistani man might be deported.
Christopher S. Bentley, spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated:
“If someone becomes a naturalized citizen by some sort of fraud perpetrated against the government, they can always be de-naturalized,” . “It’s not an easy process, but at that point, they could be deported.”
Some commentators say the fiancé should run because his lady most likely received some money from her crazy cousins, was happy to take part in the sham; years later, she forgot about it and now she is crying identity theft.
What are your thoughts on Ebony Walton’s story? Is she just a victim of identity theft?
