State employee charged with marriage fraud

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri state employee has been taken into federal custody as part of a marriage fraud scheme.

Oleksandr "Alex" Druzenko, a Ukrainian national, is among three people indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in order to evade immigration laws.

Federal prosecutor Tammy Dickinson announced the charges Friday, although the indictment was handed down in October against the 32-year-old Druzenko, who remains in custody pending a detention hearing.

Prosecutors said 60-year-old Patricia Ewalt, of El Paso, Texas, married Druzenko in 2007 to keep him in the country. Darya Chernova of Chandler, Ariz., is charged with conspiracy for introducing Druzenko and Ewalt.

The auditor's office said Druzenko was on a travel assignment.

Ewalt did not immediately return a call seeking comment, and efforts to reach 38-year-old Chernova were unsuccessful.