New York prosecutors have unraveled a twisted tale of marriage and deceit involving a woman they say married 10 husbands without getting a divorce.
Liana Barrientos, 39, was arraigned Friday on two counts of filing a false instrument after she allegedly married 10 men over the span of 11 years, with the last marriage occurring in 2010, ABC News reported. The "serial bride" was busted after authorities found out she lied on her latest marriage license, for a marriage to a Bronx man, by saying she had never been married before.
Barrientos, also from the Bronx, pleaded not guilty to the charges. She faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
Her first marriage license was filed in Eastchester, N.Y., on Nov. 5, 1999 to a man named Mohamed Gerbril, according to court records obtained by the New York Daily News. One by one she filed more licenses, including six within a six month-span in 2002.
The defendant included her social security number, her birthdate and her birthplace in the Dominican Republic on the licenses. They were filed at multiple locations across New York, including Long Island and Westchester County, the newspaper reported.
Sometimes she got a divorce, but prosecutors say she was married to most of the men at the same time.
"She is believed to be currently married to four people, and at one time she was married to eight of them at the same time," the Bronx District Attorney's Office said, according to ABC News.
Investigators are not yet sure why Barrientos, who already has a lengthy criminal record, allegedly married 10 husbands.
One theory is she married the victims in exchange for money as part of a marriage mill, according to CBS New York. The men's nationalities, from so-called "red flag" countries like Mali, Egypt and Pakistan, suggest Barrientos could have married them to help their immigration status.
Husband number eight, Rashid Rajput, was deported to Pakistan in 2008 following an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Bronx District Attorney's Office said.
"This is a huge breach in security," former FBI agent Manny Gomez told ABC News. "Potentially, somebody in al Qaeda can come in, marry this [woman] and be in this country legally."
