One of my friends is about to be dumped off their parents' health insurance and are in the all-american sweet spot of 'too-poor to afford insurance', 'too-rich for medicaid'. We joked about getting married so they could get on my insurance because my union takes care of me pretty good but I'm worried I don't understand the implications enough to make a good decision.
What does getting married actually mean?
This is a question for an actual lawyer. Most give free consults, so consulting under the guise of a prenup request (which rarely hold up) might be a free way to get a professional in your state to chime in (and if nothing else would help refine search terms).
It’s not illegal afaik. Federally at least, sham marriage laws mostly only care about immigration purposes.
I’m not sure of the intricacies, but if the friend takes on new debt after the marriage you’d also be on the hook.
I mean, how would they know it’s a sham marriage? Like getting a green card then immediately divorcing or having flings seems obvious. But health insurance is an ongoing expense unlike a green card.
Edit: to more directly answer your question: the investigation would ask questions to people who knew them and try to find ways to argue that it was only for the bennies.
They don’t have to know, the cop-prosecutor just has to convince the jury.
It’s a law mostly used for racist reasons, as is. With the occasional tax fraud case being the instigating incident. Fr though, it’s a total non-issue when both are citizens. They don’t give a shit so long as the paperwork is filled out right.
Every actual risk in this, is our comrade getting financially hurt if the friend stops being a good friend.
Counterpoint: If you care about someone enough to have a sham marriage so they can get health insurance, is it really a sham marriage? Risking criminal charges for the health of those you care for sounds like purest form of love to me.