Photo: aliexpress.com
This might look like a beautiful starter romance, but in reality, it could spell a decades behind bars for 2 people from Raleigh, North Carolina, and one man from the European country Georgia. Pulling over on the side of the road and asking a stranger to marry you is not always the most romantic thing. Or the smartest.
Levan Lomtatidze, 44, was driving down Granville County when he saw a couple panhandling on the side of the road and he pulled over. His intention was to offer them a little something more than just money: he made them an offer they literally couldn’t refuse.
Lomtatidze wanted U.S. citizenship, so he asked the woman, Melissa Anne Godshall, to marry him, even though he didn’t know her, News&Observer reports. In return, he offered to pay her $12,000 in cash and to cover monthly payments for a house and a car. She said yes.
According to court documents cited by the publication, Godshall’s boyfriend, the man with whom she’d been panhandling, Robert Kennerley, served as witness at the ceremony. All 3 are now charged with offenses related to marriage fraud and face up to 30 years behind bars, if found guilty.
“Lomtatidze and Godshall were interviewed at the USCIS [ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] office in Durham,” U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. of the Eastern District of North Carolina says. “Both attested under oath they were married in good faith.”
“Godshall and Lomtatidze have been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud, visa fraud and making false statements in immigration proceedings. If convicted, each could face 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine,” the report notes.
For his part in the scheme, Kennerley is facing charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and aiding and abetting marriage fraud, and faces up to 10 years behind bars and a fine of $250,000.
Lomtatidze wanted U.S. citizenship, so he asked the woman, Melissa Anne Godshall, to marry him, even though he didn’t know her, News&Observer reports. In return, he offered to pay her $12,000 in cash and to cover monthly payments for a house and a car. She said yes.
According to court documents cited by the publication, Godshall’s boyfriend, the man with whom she’d been panhandling, Robert Kennerley, served as witness at the ceremony. All 3 are now charged with offenses related to marriage fraud and face up to 30 years behind bars, if found guilty.
“Lomtatidze and Godshall were interviewed at the USCIS [ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] office in Durham,” U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. of the Eastern District of North Carolina says. “Both attested under oath they were married in good faith.”
“Godshall and Lomtatidze have been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud, visa fraud and making false statements in immigration proceedings. If convicted, each could face 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine,” the report notes.
For his part in the scheme, Kennerley is facing charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and aiding and abetting marriage fraud, and faces up to 10 years behind bars and a fine of $250,000.
Google News