Man enters plea in marriage fraud

A U.S. citizen pleaded not guilty Monday to marriage fraud charges after he wed a Russian woman who allegedly advertised herself online so she could get married and obtain U.S. immigration status.

Benjamin Claude Adams, 30, is charged with marriage fraud, making false statements to federal agents, and aiding and abetting a criminal act. He entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg.

Prosecutors say Adams answered an ad on the Craigslist website posted by 25-year-old Yuliya Kalinina, who was living in Marina del Rey. She pleaded not guilty Dec. 17 to federal charges of marriage fraud.

Her attorney, Dale Rubin, has said she didn’t know it was illegal to marry for a green card, which he said was evidenced by the blatant language in her ad.