CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.. (AP) - three Southern California marine corporals are face charges of defrauding the Government to enter into marriages of Sham financial gain, the military said Saturday.
The scam was hatched when a lesbian couple, a sailor and the other a civilian, has decided to live together basis, according to the 1st lieutenant Maureen Dooley, a spokesman for the Marine at Camp Pendleton.
The female Marine found a male Marine willing to marry, to collect a delivery of housing, said Dooley. The civilian woman also eventually married a male Marine and collected funds from the Government, according to officials of.
Corporals, assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Camp Pendleton, will face charges of fraud and robbery, Dooley said, adding that other charges could come later. The military did not release their names.
"Regardless of what their sexual preferences are, if they are breaking the law and make fraudulent use of public money, they will be responsible for," said Dooley.
In addition to these charges, the three Marines may have to repay the military sum of $75,000.
The female Marine told KGTV-TV Friday San Diego that she and her partner have been forced to enter into sham marriages because the army does not provide an allowance for unmarried couples and they could not afford to live database without the extra money. She and her partner wanted "have a family", she said.
Only married couples are eligible for $1,200 / month, housing allowance.
Even after the military officially drops his prohibition against openly gay or lesbian members, couples of same sex, although married, still will be not eligible due to a federal statute defining marriage only between a man and a woman, the Los Angeles Times said Saturday.
The female Marine told the station that it and other corporals could face at least a year in the Brig at Miramar, since none of them can afford to repay the Government.
More prison time, she said that she will probably be demoted to the rank of corporal in private.
Copyright © 2011 the Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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