Worcester Man Arrested For Marrying 6 Women From Africa

WORCESTER, MA—A Worcester man was arrested this week for allegedly marrying six women in order to gain immigration benefits and avoid immigration laws.

Peter Hicks, 57, was charged in federal court with one count of marriage fraud, reportedly entering into six fraudulent marriages in order to evade immigration laws. Hicks was released following an initial appearance in federal court in Worcester Monday.

According to the criminal complaint, in 2014 federal law enforcement agents uncovered evidence that Hicks married six foreign national women from Sub-Saharan Africa between 2003 and 2013. Hicks allegedly filed for immigration benefits for four of his six wives, said the U.S. Attorney's office.

During a routine interview as part of his application for benefits for a non-citizen spouse, Hicks admitted to marrying three of the women solely to obtain immigration benefits for them. In another interview, Hicks said he was paid to recruit people for these fraudulent marriages. When speaking with federal agents on Jan. 8, 2015, Hicks admitted he had been in a fraudulent marriage for around 13 years, and that he received payments to marry undocumented African women and to find willing United States citizens to marry illegal aliens for the purpose of allowing the women to establish legal status in the United States.

Investigators allege that at least once Hicks was still married to one spouse when he married another. Hicks also fraudulently claimed on an immigration form submitted on behalf of one of his spouses, that he had only one former spouse and that he had only petitioned for immigration benefits for the one former spouse, when, in fact, Hicks had actually been married five times and submitted requests for immigration benefits for a number of his former spouses, said the U.S. Attorney.

Photo via Shutterstock