PORTSMOUTH, Va | Tue Nov 1, 2011 12:30pm EDT PORTSMOUTH, Va (Reuters) - A former Navy sailor was found guilty in federal court of arranging sham marriages between illegal immigrants and fellow sailors aboard a Virginia-ported amphibious assault ship.
Jermar Jones, 26, of Hampton, Virginia, was convicted on Monday in Norfolk of 11 charges stemming from the marriage fraud conspiracy conducted from about December 2006 until immigration officials intervened in early 2008.
During the four-day trial, jurors heard testimony that Jones had arranged the fraudulent marriages between sailors from his ship, the USS Kearsarge, and illegal immigrants, including his cousin, from his home country of Grenada.
He told the sailors what papers to submit to the Navy to receive an extra housing allowance based on their married status, which nearly doubled their base pay, and received a fee of $6,000 from some of the illegal immigrants, prosecutors said.
When sailors refused to file the papers or provide help with the immigration process, he threatened them, according to court testimony.
Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Jones faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.
(Reporting by Matthew A. Ward; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)