A Jefferson City lawyer has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from accusations that he helped his Ukrainian mistress find a U.S. citizen to marry solely so she could stay in the U.S.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said in a release Wednesday that 62-year-old James Douglas Barding pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in the marriage fraud conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Barding, a married attorney, had an affair with a Ukrainian woman who entered the United States on a student visa and that Barding found another man for the woman to marry before her visa expired so she could stay in the U.S. and seek citizenship.
Barding faces up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000.
