2 NC soldiers plead in marriage fraud case

GREENVILLE -- Two North Carolina-based soldiers and a bride have pleaded guilty to marriage fraud, saying they were part of a scheme to boost the soldiers' housing allowance and gain U.S. citizenship for the women. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that Wesley Farris and Stephen Schneider pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Greenville to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Neither of the soldiers who were assigned to Fort Bragg would comment after the hearing. Schneider is no longer in the Army, and Farris is a sergeant with an 82nd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Court records indicate that one woman, Tatyana Urazova, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud as part of a plea agreement. It wasn't clear whom she married, and details of the plea agreement weren't immediately available. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)