By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-12 12:13:03 | Updated at 2024-12-25 12:52:17
1 week ago
Hannah Kobayashi, the missing photographer found alive on Wednesday, planned to fly to New York City with her alleged fake husband to create proof and fool immigration officials their marriage was real, according to a report.
Kobayashi, 30, was traveling from Los Angeles International Airport with her ex, Amun Muniz-Miranda, his own Green Card wife Marianne, and the Argentine national she had secretly married, Alan Cacace, in an alleged potential green card visa scheme gone wrong.
However, the foursome allegedly planned the trip to make their marriages seem more legitimate.
The trip was set up for the couples to take tons of photos around the Big Apple’s iconic staples such as the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Central Park, according to the Daily Mail.
The plan, reported to be formulated by Cacace, was to create proof that their marriages were real if immigration officials ever started to catch on to the scheme.
Cacace had allegedly given Kobayashi $15,000 to marry him so he could obtain a green card, the outlet reported.
He allegedly promised her a similar amount after the immigration documents allowing him to stay in the US were issued.
The FBI is now looking at the case as a potential green card visa scheme gone south after Kobayashi didn’t tell her family she was married.
The alleged marriage scam went so far that the 30-year-old had been showing pictures of their wedding ceremony to co-workers at the Maui smoke shop Up ‘N Smoke before she vanished, the Daily Mail reported.
A source who worked with Kobayashi in Hawaii told The Post Monday that people she worked with were aware of the alleged fake marriage.
“My other co-worker knew, but she kept it on the down-low — that’s what Hannah wanted — but now it’s out there for everyone,” the source said.
Another close friend of Hannah’s also confirmed to The Post she had married Cacace.
However, the friend didn’t feel the two were romantically involved.
Marriage fraud is a federal crime that can land people in prison for up to five years.
Sara Azari, a lawyer representing the Kobayashi family, pointed out no concrete proof of the alleged marriage between her and Cacace has emerged.
“We do not have legal, factual corroboration. We don’t have any confirmation. She had never told her family that she was married,” Azari told The Post.
However, Kobayashi voluntarily disembarked the plane at LAX and sent worrying texts to her family, prompting them to raise the alarm.
Kobayashi bought a ticket at a Los Angeles bus station on Nov. 12 and headed for the Mexican border.
The following day, she crossed into Tijuana around noon via the San Ysidro point of entry tunnel.
More than a month after she had vanished, her family announced Wednesday that Kobayashi was found and is safe.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” the family of the 30-year-old from Hawaii said in an attorney-issued statement to local media.
“This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through.”
