Paramjit Singh Taggar, 44, and his wife Harbans Kaur Hothi, 51, were found guilty of conspiracy, fraud and misuse of visas by a US district court in San Francisco, California.

The grand jury indictment of the phoney wedding scheme enacted with Taggar's sister Pritam Kaur, 35, and brother Gurdeep Singh Atwal, 43, was unsealed Wednesday.

Assistant US Attorney David L. Gappa, prosecuting the case, said the normal waiting period to immigrate for a brother or sister of a US citizen is 13 years. There is no waiting period for a spouse.

Hothi and Taggar are naturalized US citizens, according to a report in the FresnoBee, published from California.

The indictment accused the couple of lying about the marriages in order to have the siblings immediately immigrate to the United States from India.

Atwal, who lives in Fresno, and the sister Kaur, who lives in San Jose, had been on a fast-track programme for US citizenship when the alleged fraud was uncovered, investigators said.

According to the indictment, Hothi and Taggar were married in 1983 and have two children. They were divorced in January 1994 but have continued to live with each other as husband and wife, the indictment said.

Investigators said the couple agreed to divorce in order to enter "into sham marriages" with Atwal and Kaur.

The alleged sham marriages took place in India, and petitions were filed to have Atwal and Kaur return with Hothi and Taggar to the United States, according to the indictment.

After arriving in the US, Atwal married a woman in Fremont. He and his wife have a child, born on July 28, 2002, the indictment said.

Kaur also was married according to Sikh rites in Hayward. She and her husband have two children.

Assistant US Attorney David L. Gappa said the investigation was primarily the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Hector Bencomo. It was conducted in the US and India with assistance from the Fresno County District Attorney's Office.

If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to $250,000 fine for the conspiracy count, and up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 fine for each count of making false statements.

Atwal and Kaur also face deportation if they are convicted. They are all in custody and waiting to appear before a magistrate.

--Indo-Asian News Service