Cherry Hill Man Defrauded Immigration Services Through Sham Marriage: Feds

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A Cherry Hill man from Albania faces federal charges after authorities accused him of entering a sham marriage to obtain a green card.

Elvis Harizaj, 25, of Cherry Hill, entered the United States in 2017 on a student visa. Four years later, he married Natasha Flores — a U.S. citizen who lives in Newark — according to federal prosecutors.

In October 2022, Harizaj applied for permanent U.S. residence based on his marriage to Flores. In the documents, the couple claimed they lived together in Maple Shade, according to prosecutors.

But Homeland Security investigators found that Flores never lived in Maple Shade. Her landlord told officers that she has lived in Newark since 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed May 20.

Flores, 27, also lied to immigration authorities that she had never married before, officials said. But she previously wed a Brazilian national who obtained U.S. citizenship through that marriage, according to prosecutors.

In August 2023, federal agents interviewed Harizaj and Flores at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Mount Laurel about discrepancies in their application. A USCIS officer interviewed Harizaj again a few months later, and the Albanian national agreed to withdraw his green card application.

Last month, Harizaj admitted during a voluntary interview with federal agents that he was introduced to Flores so he could enter a sham marriage, according to a criminal complaint.

Flores and Harizaj were both charged Wednesday with making false statements to the USCIS. If convicted, the offense carries up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

Harizaj was also charged with marriage fraud.

Federal authorities did not share Harizaj's current immigration status or whether either suspect is in custody. Patch contacted federal agencies with questions and will update as more information becomes available.

Harizaj and Flores did not have an attorney listed in online court records on Thursday.

A decade ago, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement developed a webpage that claims marriage fraud "poses a national security threat, damages the integrity of the U.S. immigration system and endangers U.S. citizens who enter into these fake unions."

President Donald Trump's administration has made a series of changes tightening marriage-based green card procedures. Boundless, a legal service that aids immigrants, criticized the administration for introducing these mandates without announcing policy shifts and increasing wait times on the applications.

"Historically, similar surges in processing times — and increased scrutiny — occurred during periods of heightened enforcement under the Trump administration, offering a precedent for what may lie ahead in 2025 and beyond," Hasalyn Modine wrote on Boundless's website.