'Wife' of San Bernardino gunman's friend pleads guilty to fake marriage charges

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Mariya Chernykh, the wife of Enrique Marquez Jr., a friend of the couple who carried out the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre in 2015, pleaded guilty to being involved in a sham marriage.

Chernykh, a Russian national, pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy, perjury and making false statements. She is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $1 million fine.

Chernykh, along with her sister, Tatiana Farook, and brother-in-law, Syed Rizwan Farook, were charged in a five-count indictment in April related to the fraudulent marriage between Chernykh and Marquez -- created so Chernykh could remain in the United States.

Syed Rizwan Farook is the brother of Syed Raheel Farook, who, along with his wife, Tashfeed Malik, opened fire at a health department event in December 2015, killing 14 people and injuring 22 others. The marriage sham plot was uncovered during the investigation of the terror attack.

Prosecutors said Chernykh paid Marquez $200 a month to keep the fake marriage going.

Syed Raheel Farook allegedly stepped in during Chernykh's citizenship application process to vouch for Marquez by saying Marquez had the financial means to support his new wife.

But other than the marriage certificate Marquez and Chernykh signed in late November 2014, there was little evidence they lived as a real married couple, prosecutors sadi.

In public records, Chernykh shared an address not with Marquez, but with another man, Oscar Romero. On social media, Chernykh and Romero would frequently post images of themselves along with a baby girl, who they would refer to as their daughter.

Chernykh changed her name to Maria Romero on some social media sites two months before her marriage to Marquez and she kept using the name after the marriage. Oscar Romero referred to Chernykh as his wife on another social media account.

Marquez was charged in December 2015 with conspiracy for allegedly acquiring and selling two rifles that police say were used in the Southern California massacre.