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A Fort Bragg soldier who was involved in a sham marriage with a United States citizen was sentenced on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 to time served in prison, a U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Maryam Movsum Hasanova, 35, pleaded guilty in October to one count of visa fraud. She was also ordered to be promptly deported from the U.S. and to pay more than $41,000 in restitution to the U.S. Army, according to a news release.

Court documents and information presented in court showed Hasanova, a citizen of Azerbaijan, entered the U.S. as an exchange visitor. Soon after her status expired in March 2014, Hasanova was introduced to a U.S. citizen, who was paid approximately $15,000 to marry Hasanova in exchange for her “green card,” prosecutors said. The two were married in October 2015.

Hasanova and the U.S. citizen then submitted fake applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting her adjustment of status as a lawful permanent resident. Hasanova and the U.S. citizen were interviewed and attested under oath they were married in good faith, leading to the application being approved.

Once Hasanova obtained her green card and joined the U.S. military, she began collecting U.S. Military Basic Allowance for Housing at the married rate.

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