JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Tarunkumar and Sachin Patel sought ways for their friends and business associates from India to remain permanently in the United States.

But Monday, the Patels admitted in federal court in Mississippi that those efforts were illegal. They pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, saying they arranged fake marriages and fake police reports to try to help people gain legal immigration status. The United States grants visas to certain crime victims, and former Jackson police officer Ivory Harris says Tarunkumar Patel bribed him to forge such reports.

Also pleading guilty Monday were Harris, lawyer Simpson Goodman and two men who got fake police reports. The Patels and Goodman face up to 10 years in prison.

Another man pleaded guilty Friday, while other pleas are scheduled this month. Nineteen people overall face charges.

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