Restaurant Owner Accused of Paying Employees To Marry

The Thai Ginger RestaurantThe co-owner of a chain of Asian restaurants in the Seattle area was recently indicted on immigration fraud charges.  Varee Bradford apparently paid employees of the Thai Ginger restaurants she owns with her husband to marry her relatives so they could immigrate from Thailand.

Bradford has been charged with arranging four sham marriages over the past eight years.  The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency had been following her for at least three years before they caught her offering an undercover agent cash in exchange for marrying one of her Thai relatives.

Thai Ginger employees were offered up to $20,000 dollars to marry Bradford’s relatives.  A similar case involving a Cambodian woman led to her conviction earlier this year.  She still awaits sentencing.

About Greg McGuire

Greg has blogged about the food service industry for years and has been published in industry magazines, like Independent Restaurateur and industry blogs like Restaurant SmartBrief. He lives in Colorado with his wife and two sons and enjoys reading, live music, and the great outdoors.

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One comment

  1. The US should look at the laws of Denmark which has managed its immigration really well. Marriage does not ensure entry into the country. The way things are in the US it works against a proper assimilation of immigrants. Those from India and other such countries go in for these marriages and bring in a woman or man from their country. it appears we Americans aren’t good enough.
    $20,000 did you say? That should be a good way of earning during these hard times.

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