Former Ft. Bragg Soldier Among Those Arrested In US Army Marriage Fraud

Eleven people, including a former Fort Bragg solider, have been charged for arranging fraudulent marriages between U.S. Army soldiers and immigrants in order to evade U.S. immigrations laws.

Former soldier Ebenezer Yeboah Asane, 37, was accused of planning and organizing the marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. Army soldiers based at Ft. Bragg, CBS 17 reports. This would allow the immigrants to receive lawful permanent residence status and the soldiers to get Basic Allowance for Housing so they could live off post.

The 11 people involved were charged with a total of 29 counts, including marriage fraud, transporting and harboring aliens, Visa fraud, obstruction, unlawful disposition of U.S. property, false statements in immigration matters, and conspiracy to marriage fraud. An indictment also alleges that they conspired to recruit other soldiers into the scheme as well.

According to CBS 17, one of Asane's co-conspirators, Samuel Manu Agyapong, a Sergeant at Ft. Bragg, was accused of obstruction after attempting to destroy evidence and influence witness testimony.

This isn't the first time Ft. Bragg soldiers have been involved in a scheme like this. In July 2020, federal and state prosecutors shut down another marriage fraud scheme, resulting in grand jury indictments for active duty and former soldiers the base.

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