By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE federal court on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging a Filipino national with marriage fraud.
A grand jury in the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands indicted Michael Padilla Morales on Oct. 9 on one count of marriage fraud.
According to the indictment:
“On or about June 30, 2023, in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, defendant MICHAEL PADILLA MORALES, an alien and citizen of the Republic of the Philippines, knowingly entered into a marriage with a United States citizen, to wit: Jaimelynn Nebres Morales, a.k.a. Jaimelynn Bucio Nebres, for the purpose of evading a provision of the immigration laws, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1325(c).”
The court has not yet scheduled an initial appearance for Morales.
As for Jaimelynn Nebres Morales, also known as Jaimelynn Bucio Nebres, the federal court sentenced her on Sept. 12, 2025, to two years’ probation on one count of marriage fraud.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered Morales to pay a $900 fine and a $100 special assessment fee, due immediately after sentencing.
Judge Manglona also imposed a special condition requiring mandatory reporting to the U.S. Probation Office.
“The defendant’s previously imposed conditions of release are hereby exonerated; therefore, defendant’s passport shall be returned,” the judge said.
Morales remained free following sentencing.
Represented by attorney Mark Scoggins, Nebres pleaded guilty to the charge last May. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe prosecuted the case.
According to the plea agreement, Nebres was born in 1993 and is a U.S. citizen.
“On or about June 30, 2023, in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, defendant knowingly entered into a marriage for the purpose of evading a provision of the immigration laws. Specifically, defendant married M.P.M., a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines and a CW-1 visa holder, so M.P.M. could potentially obtain permanent resident status and avoid returning to his home country. At the time she entered into the marriage, defendant had no intention of ever establishing a life with M.P.M.”
