New York Woman Accused of Marriage Scam

Liana Barrientos
(New York City)

A woman tied the knot 10 times in an immigration scam and is still listed as married to four of the men, including one who was deported because of threats against the United States, prosecutors said Friday.

In a case unearthed by the Department of Homeland Security, Liana Barrientos pleaded not guilty Friday in the Bronx to two counts of filing a false instrument -- an application and license for her 2010 marriage to Salle Keita, an immigrant from Mali.

Barrientos, 39, apparently avoided detection for nearly a decade, perhaps because each marriage certificate was filed in a different town or village in the New York metropolitan area.

When Homeland Security confronted her about the host of marriages, Barrientos "denied ever seeing those 10 men, with the exception of Mr. Keita," Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lupo said in court. "In fact, since 1999 she had nine other marriages."

The fake grooms were natives of Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, Pakistan, Mali, the Czech Republic and Bangladesh, according to the district attorney's office.

Reportedly, Barrientos was married to eight men at the same time.