The 'Sham Marriage' Biz Boom

It seems we can add marriage broker to the list of recession-proof jobs. According to the New York Post, with the help of these yentes, "a slew of Russian immigrants are entering into sham marriages in the States to obtain green cards" or money—and they're doing it right in front of officials' eyes. The unions bring together an Eastern European-American citizen looking for fast cash and an immigrant hoping to become legal. "I get calls asking me to marry one of these girls every other week," a Ukrainian immigrant and U.S. citizen told the paper. "It's easy money," he said. "And the girls are really hot." He said he knows "half a dozen men who married young Russian and Polish women for cash." The couples manage to dupe both city officials, who grant them marriage licenses, and Citizenship and Immigration Services, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. "It's a big business," said a federal law-enforcement source. "It's really prevalent among that community."