Couple Indicted and Arrested for Marriage Fraud

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment on June 5, 2025, charging Shokir Kurbonovich Khalilov, from Uzbekistan, and Keily Maisonet-Ortiz, San Juan, with marriage fraud.

According to court documents, from February 29, 2024, through on or about April 29, 2025, the defendants entered into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws of the United States. Shokir Kurbonovich Khalilov and Keily Maisonet-Ortiz obtained a marriage license and got married on March 13, 2024, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On October of 2024 Maisonet-Ortiz submitted an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative in favor of defendant Shokir Kurbonovich Khalilov before the Department of Homeland Security and on the same date, Khalilov submitted a I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adult Status pursuant to his marriage to defendant Maisonet-Ortiz.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud. Defendant Maisonet-Ortiz is scheduled for her initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Giselle López Soler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Defendant Khalilov will have his initial court appearance next week. If convicted, the defendants face a sentence of up to five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico; and Reggie Johnson, Chief Patrol Agent for the Ramey Sector of the US Border Patrol made the announcement.

US Border Patrol is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emelina M. Agrait Barreto is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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