A Connecticut woman claims that a Rockland County man from India married her to get her dowry and jewelry and to gain entry to the United States.
Rebaca Varghese of Orange, Connecticut, sued Jaimon Varghese Thomas of New City on Feb. 25 in federal bankruptcy court in White Plains to stop him from getting out of paying his debts.
Thomas “had a concealed motive to gain entry to the United States from India,” she states in an adversary proceeding challenging his Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and he married her “for immigration benefits.”
Thomas”™ bankruptcy attorney, Desiree de Moya of New City, did not respond to an email request for comment.
Rebaca Varghese grew up in India, immigrated as a child in 2001 and became a U.S. citizen. She has a bachelor”™s degree from the University of Connecticut, a master”™s in secondary education from Johns Hopkins University and has worked as a high school science teacher at a private school in Stamford.
Details of their relationship were summarized in 2019 by a Stamford Superior Court judge who presided over a 13-day trial in which she sought to annul the marriage.
In 2015, her parents in Kerala, India posted her profile on a website to reach eligible young men with a similar ethnic and Christian background.
Thomas represented himself as “an independent, driven, motivated, family-centered God-fearing individual,” according to the trial memo, with advanced degrees from Indian universities, a job as a financial analyst and enough proficiency in English to work in America.
Their parents arranged a marriage, with the couple”™s approval. They met for the first time two days before the 2015 marriage.
Her family paid a $15,000 dowry and bought her $20,805 in jewelry for the wedding. The jewelry was then left with him in India, when she returned to the United States.
After their honeymoon at a tea plantation, they never again had intimate contact, according to the trial memo. Their communications were infrequent and hostile. He demanded a greater dowry and received another $15,000 from her family.
Thomas obtained a visa in 2016, spent time with relatives in California and then moved in with her in Stamford, where he slept on a sofa and the relationship remained “distant and hostile,” according to the trial memo.
She claims his language skills were weak, he mispresented his education and he seldom worked.
Rebaca Varghese”™s Connecticut lawsuit alleges that the marriage contract was fraudulent. Thomas denied her claims of fraud and abuse but he also sought to end the marriage due to an “irretrievable breakdown” that happened after he moved to Connecticut. He demanded alimony and “a fair division of property and assets.”
Judge Anthony D. Truglia Jr. annulled the marriage. He denied Thomas”™ demand for alimony and ordered him to return the jewelry by May 1, 2019, pay his ex-wife $37,000 as a property settlement and pay $20,000 as a portion of her legal fees.
On Jan. 9, Thomas petitioned bankruptcy court in White Plains for Chapter 13 protection. He declared $19,496 in assets ”“ consisting mostly of a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander”“ and $99,692 in liabilities, including his debt to Rebaca Varghese. He listed a $150 watch as his only jewelry.
Her attorney, Anne Penachio of White Plains, argued that Thomas should be denied a discharge of debts to her because he failed to return her jewelry and he made a false oath when he failed to disclose possession of her jewelry in his bankruptcy petition.
A debt also may not be discharged if it is incurred in a divorce or separation, she states, or if it was obtained by false pretenses, false representations or fraud.
The Connecticut court, she states, found clear and convincing evidence that Thomas obtained consent for marriage by material misrepresentations.
He “misrepresented his financial background, his education, his earning capacity, his language proficiency and his intention to provide for her. Most importantly (he) expressly and by implication promised ”¦ that he would be a loving, respectful and supportive husband.”
