The owner of a chain of popular Thai restaurants was sentenced to six months in federal custody on Friday for paying employees to marry relatives of hers from Thailand so they could stay in the country.
Varee Bradford, 44, who operates five Thai Ginger restaurants in the Seattle area, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit immigration fraud and three counts of fraud relating to immigration documents.
Prosecutors said she had set up several sham marriages in which she offered $10,000 to $20,000 to both male and female employees to marry her relatives to make it easier for them to obtain permanent resident "green cards" and stay in the country.
