Woman who allegedly arranged sham marriage convicted

CHICAGO (AP) - A suburban Chicago woman has been convicted of obstructing U.S. agents as they investigated allegations she arranged a sham marriage for a cousin from Mongolia.

The U.S. attorney's office in Chicago says jurors returned with a verdict on Monday against the woman, Enkhchimeg Ulziibayar (ENCH'-chih-mehg OOL'-zee-bay-ar) Edwards. The 38-year-old Carpentersville woman is also known as Eni Edwards.

Prosecutors say she arranged a sham marriage in 2003 so her relative could marry Edwards' friend and thereby seek permanent U.S. residency.

Prosecutors say Edwards once worked as an officer of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

She was convicted of two counts of witness tampering and two counts of making false statements. One count of witness tampering alone carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for May 26.