Uzbek National Sentenced For Role In Long-Running Immigration And Passport Fraud Conspiracy

Orlando, Florida - U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton has sentenced Dilrabo Obidova (36, Uzbekistan) for her role in a long-running immigration and passport fraud conspiracy. The Court sentenced Obidova to a time-served sentence reflecting the time Obidova was detained pending trial. The Court has also entered an order immediately deporting Obidova to Uzbekistan with no option to apply for asylum or any other immigration relief. Obidova entered a guilty plea in May 2024. Obidova's husband, Abduvosit Razikov, was charged in the same indictment. He remains at-large.

According to court documents, Razikov and Obidova conspired since at least 2007 to bring Obidova to the United States from Uzbekistan and fraudulently obtain immigration benefits for her. To this end, Obidova entered into a sham marriage with a U.S. citizen, even though she was already married to Razikov. To perpetuate the myth that she was legitimately married to a U.S. citizen, Obidova moved in with her sham husband, filed joint tax returns with him, staged photos, and even listed her sham husband on her and Razikov's children's birth certificates. Obidova, with Razikov's assistance, also filed several immigration and passport applications, each time making false statements or concealing information about her sham marriage and her marriage to Razikov.

After obtaining lawful permanent resident status, Obidova attempted to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. In her application for naturalization, Obidova made numerous false statements, under penalty of perjury, relating to her background, marriages, and past attempts to illegally obtain immigration benefits and status. Law enforcement officers took Obidova into custody when she traveled to Orlando for her final naturalization interview.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations and Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and the Orange County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kara M. Wick and Richard Varadan.