Federal agents have raided a Philippines-based church in Los Angeles and accused church leaders of a decades-long scheme to arrange sham marriages to keep followers in the U.S., where they were tricked into raising funds for leaders' lavish lifestyles. But the complaint said most of the money raised was used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyle of church leader Apollo Quiboloy. Between 2014 and the middle of last year, $20 million was sent back to the church in the Philippines, the FBI said. Marissa Duenas, 41, who allegedly handled fraudulent immigration documents for church workers and secured the passports immediately after workers entered the U.S.Amanda Estopare, 48, who allegedly handled the financial aspects of the church enterprise, including enforcing fundraising quotas for workers. Investigators documented 82 sham marriages over a 20-year period between top fundraisers and church members who were U.S. citizens.

Source: Daily Mail January 29, 2020 22:09 UTC