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Date: 10-11-2021
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:20-cr-00040-NT
Judge: Nancy Torresen
Court: United States District Court for the District of Maine (Cumberland County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Portland, ME: Criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged with visa fraud.
Alexander Gormatov, 33, a Russian national, entered the U.S. on a student/work visa in 2009, and later successfully adjusted his status to that of an academic student visa by attending Southern Maine Community College in 2010. In 2011, he met a 17-year-old female U.S. citizen through a Craigslist employment advertisement. Just a few months later, when she reached age 18, he paid her to marry him in his pursuit of a permanent immigration benefit. He then quit school. By November 2012, when he failed to re-enroll at the college, he became unlawfully present in the U.S.
In January 2013, per their agreement, the sham couple made a series of materially false statements on immigration documents that Gormatov later filed seeking a formal adjustment to his immigration status. In April 2013, the couple was interviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in South Portland, during which, per Gormatov’s instruction, the couple falsely claimed to be living as husband and wife. Following the interviews, based on the fraud, Gormatov obtained conditional lawful permanent resident status in the U.S.
In January 2014, Gormatov’s wife gave birth to a child she conceived with her actual live-in boyfriend, but Gormatov’s name was placed on the birth certificate. In March 2015, Gormatov filed a petition in order to remove the conditions of his permanent residence accompanied by a copy of the child’s falsified birth certificate.
In January 2017, after learning he was under investigation, Gormatov departed the U.S. for Russia, and failed to return within one year. In May 2019, to return to the U.S., he falsely represented the paternity of his sham wife’s child on a form filed in Riga, Latvia.
During the trial, the young sham wife testified that Gormatov had told her to “just trust him” because such sham marriages happen all the time and “nobody cares.”
Gormatov faces up to five years in prison for the conspiracy and false statement charges, and up to 10 years in prison for the visa fraud charge. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 per count and a supervised release term of up to three years. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service investigated the case.
Outcome: 10/07/2021 129 ORAL ORDER denying 113 Motion in Limine as to ALEXANDER GORMATOV (1) By JUDGE NANCY TORRESEN. (nrg) (Entered: 10/07/2021)
10/07/2021 130 Minute Entry for proceedings held before JUDGE NANCY TORRESEN: Jury Trial completed as to ALEXANDER GORMATOV. The defendant is found guilty on counts 1-3. The defendant is ordered released on previously set conditions of bail. (Court Reporter: Tammy Martell) (Interpreter: Andrei Izurov (for a witness)) (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 131 COURT WITNESS LIST from Jury Trial held on 10/6/2021 - 10/7/2021, as to defendant ALEXANDER GORMATOV. (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 132 COURT EXHIBIT LIST from Jury Trial held on 10/6/2021 - 10/7/2021, as to defendant ALEXANDER GORMATOV (Exhibits listed on the Court Exhibit List are not remotely electronically available). (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 133 JURY VERDICT ALEXANDER GORMATOV (1) Guilty on Counts 1, 2, and 3. (nrg) (Additional attachment(s) added on 10/8/2021: # 1 Unredacted Version) (nrg). (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 134 ORAL MOTION for Rule 29 Judgment of Acquittal by ALEXANDER GORMATOV. (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 135 ORAL ORDER denying 134 Oral Motion for Rule 29 Judgment of Acquittal as to ALEXANDER GORMATOV (1) By JUDGE NANCY TORRESEN. (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 136 ORAL SECOND MOTION for Rule 29 Judgment of Acquittal by ALEXANDER GORMATOV. (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 137 ORAL ORDER denying 136 Oral Second Motion for Judgment of Acquittal as to ALEXANDER GORMATOV (1) By JUDGE NANCY TORRESEN. (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
10/07/2021 138 KEPREOS ORDER Prohibiting Post-Verdict Contact with Jurors as to ALEXANDER GORMATOV (cc: jurors) By JUDGE NANCY TORRESEN. (nrg) (Entered: 10/08/2021)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: