Authorities are reportedly looking into claims Hannah Kobayashi may have been the victim of a marriage scam that led her to disconnect from family and travel to Mexico.
Loved ones reported 30-year-old Kobayashi missing Nov. 13, five days after she failed to board her connecting flight to New York City during a layover at Los Angeles International Airport after arriving from Honolulu Nov. 8.
Now, detectives might be investigating rumors of a marriage for money purportedly devised by Kobayashi's ex, who was traveling with her, sources told Los Angeles Magazine.
"Kobayashi was apparently scammed out of the proceeds of a purported immigration scheme possibly concocted by her former partner, who left Maui with Kobayashi on Nov. 8 and landed at LAX with plans to catch a connecting flight to New York City," the magazine wrote, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the investigation. "Also on the plane, sources say, was Kobayashi's new husband, Alan Cacace, an Argentinian man whose own girlfriend, Marianna, was reportedly on the flight with Kobayashi's ex."
The apparent investigation into the potential green card plot was reportedly triggered after Kobayashi's mother, Brandi Yee, contacted an immigration attorney whose information was listed on immigration papers she came across in her daughter's home in Maui.
"That attorney was not cooperative with the mom," a source told the outlet, prompting Brandi to hand over the documents to the FBI and Los Angeles police.
On Wednesday, Kobayashi's family said they have been unable to confirm information about a possible secret marriage.
"This is one of many leads we are actively investigating with the help of our attorney and investigative team. We would also like to confirm that we turned over the alleged information to law enforcement immediately upon receipt," they said in a statement, in part, through their attorney, Sara Azari.
"We kindly ask everyone to avoid jumping to conclusions or spreading unverified claims. It is especially important not to perpetuate speculation that anyone is involved in a scam, as this only hinders our efforts to find Hannah and bring clarity and closure to the nightmare we are living because of her disappearance."
Following a three-week search for Kobayashi, police in Los Angeles on Monday announced it was their belief she willingly cut ties with loved ones and crossed over into Mexico via the San Ysidro crossing in San Diego on Nov. 12, citing surveillance footage.
"We've basically done everything we can do at this point. She's left the country and in another nation now," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said, adding she is now classified as a "voluntary missing person," refuting suspicions she may have been the victim of foul play, the Associated Press reported.
Originally published in Lawyer Herald
