A federal jury convicted a Jamaican woman Thursday of entering into a "sham marriage" with a Kansas soldier so she could get legal immigration status.
Shannakay Hunter, 28, fought back tears after the jury returned guilty verdicts for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud and lying to the government.
Hunter, who lives in New York, faces up to five years imprisonment on each count. She is likely to get far less, if any, prison time under federal guidelines during sentencing, which has not been set.
The government contends her 2010 marriage to Joshua Priest, 23, then a private at Fort Riley, was a fake arrangement to give her a green card and him $1,500 in extra monthly benefits for married soldiers. Priest has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and wire fraud in a deal with the government for leniency in exchange for his testimony against Hunter.