Although nothing has been verified as of yet, Hannah Kobayashi’s family stated that they are looking into if she was a part of a potential green card marriage fraud.
The 30-year-old Hawaiian woman who was the focus of a Los Angeles missing person search was reclassified as a voluntary missing person on Monday after police revealed that she had voluntarily crossed into Mexico.
She might have been a part of a green card marriage as part of an immigration fraud for money before she vanished, according to an article by Los Angeles Magazine that was published on Wednesday and cited sources.
According to the article, Kobayashi may have been defrauded of the money from the alleged scheme in which she married an Argentinean man.
According to the source, Kobayashi’s mother uncovered the potential scam when she came across immigration documents listing an immigration lawyer in her daughter’s Hawaii house.
The FBI was looking into the potential marriage scam, according to the Los Angeles Magazine article. The report has not been confirmed by NBC News. A request for comment was not immediately answered by the FBI.
In a statement posted on behalf of the Kobayashi family, Sara Azari, an attorney, said: “We want to stress that the family has not publicly announced any information regarding an alleged marriage because we did not have the facts or the necessary documents to verify the legitimacy of this information.”
“The family has not attested to the veracity of the information offered regarding a potential covert marriage or the legitimacy of the photos. The family gave law enforcement any information they had, the statement claimed, adding, “This is one of many leads we are actively investigating with the help of our attorney and investigative team.”
Public members were urged by the family to “avoid jumping to conclusions or spreading unverified claims.”
According to the statement, it is crucial to avoid spreading rumors that someone is part of a scam since doing so will only make it more difficult for us to locate Hannah and provide clarity and closure to the trauma we are suffering through as a result of her absence.
The family thanked the public for their support and the people who helped in the hunt for Kobayashi, saying, “We remain focused on verifying the details and leads we have received and ask for your understanding and patience as we continue our investigation.”
On November 8, when Kobayashi arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from Honolulu in preparation for a flight to New York City, worries began to grow. According to her family, she spent her time traveling in Los Angeles after missing the connecting flight.
According to a timeline that her sister Sydni Kobayashi uploaded to the private Help Us Find Hannah Facebook page, she spent the next day and the day after that at The Grove shopping complex, which is around 12 miles north of LAX, and then returned to LAX each time.
She was observed conversing with a ticket agent at the airport on November 11. She boarded a Metro train with an unidentified male later that day to travel to South Los Angeles and then to downtown Los Angeles, according to authorities. Family members claimed that she sent them texts that day that worried them because they didn’t seem to be in her voice or have the same content.
Hannah’s last message to us was concerning; according to Kobayashi’s aunt Larie Pidgeon on Facebook, she expressed fear and the possibility that someone was attempting to steal her name and money.
She was spotted by herself at a Greyhound bus stop in downtown Los Angeles on November 12.
She was reported missing on November 13 and the LAPD took over the case on November 15, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell on Monday.
Police stated on Monday that they had determined Kobayashi was voluntarily missing after reviewing U.S. Customs and Border Protection footage that showed her walking into Mexico on Nov. 12 at a land port in San Diego.
According to McDonnell, there is no proof that Kobayashi was the victim of foul play or human trafficking. In a press briefing, police stated that detectives looked through her social media profiles and concluded she wanted to cut off contact.
Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, 58, committed suicide on November 24 close to LAX, and Kobayashi’s family had converged in Los Angeles to look for her. He died from several blunt force trauma injuries, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
On Monday, McDonnell expressed his deepest sympathies to the family for everything they had endured.
In response to a question about the potential marriage and the family’s worries, the LAPD stated that Monday’s press conference was their final update.
According to Sydni Kobayashi, the family was not happy with the police’s conclusion.
On NBC News NOW’s Top Story With Tom Llamas on Tuesday, Sydni Kobayashi stated, “We’re just as confused and just as frustrated, more than anything now.”
She advised her sister to get in touch with the relatives.
She said, “I can’t express enough how loved and supported you are.” We’re quite concerned about you. You always have a home to return to, regardless of the circumstances.
According to Azari, the family would send out volunteers to search Mexico for Hannah.
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling 988 if you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis. For further resources, visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources, text HOME to 741741, or contact the network (formerly the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) at 800-273-8255.
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