By . Daniel Bates . PUBLISHED: . 14:00 EST, 3 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:34 EST, 3 October 2012 . A son has been convicted of making his elderly male lover go through a sham wedding with his Russian mum so she could get a green card and stay in the US. In a convoluted plot, Danil Lyapin, 32, supposedly told besotted Armando Figueroa that the cars and restaurant business he had bought him were not enough. To win his love Mr Figueroa, in his 60s, duly married Natallia Liapina, 54, whom he lived with for 10 years in a fake married life that fooled everyone. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Triangle: Danil Liapina, right, told besotted Armando Figueroa, left, to marry Danil's mother Natallia, center, so that she could get a green card and remain in the United States . The plot unraveled when Belarus-born . Danil Lyapin’s own wife Victoria got angry that he was cheating on her - . and went to the police. In another twist, prosecutors have . claimed that even Danil Lyapin’s marriage was a fake so he could get a . green card and that he had gone through three attempted sham weddings . before. He and his mother - who was called a . ‘master actress’ by a judge - have now been convicted of marriage fraud . and conspiracy and face up to five years in jail. The extraordinary tale came apart in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where all the parties were living. Different couples: Prosecutors allege that the marriage between Natallia and Armando (left) was a sham, and that really Armando was carrying out a secret relationship with Danil (right) Charged: Now Natallia and Danil (but not Armando) face federal charges and deportation . Danil Lyapin and his mother came to . the US on a student exchange programme more than a decade ago and began a . construction business where he hired Mr Figueroa, who was a widower at . the time. Prosecutors claim that even though . Danil Lyapin was married himself, the two men began an affair during . which Mr Figueroa showered him with gifts. That however was not enough for Danil . Lyapin and as his mother was having visa problems, he persuaded Mr . Figueroa to marry his mother, a respected high school teacher, so she . could remain in the US. Over the next several years they lived . a lie and filled up scrapbooks with fake memories and took bogus . photographs and videos on family outings. Prosecutor Joseph DePadilla said that even posts put on social networking websites were part of the elaborate fraud. According to WKTR TV, after years of . watching this happen under her nose Danil Lyapin’s wife got jealous she . was sharing her husband with another man so went to the authorities. By that time her husband had become abusive and supposedly used physical and verbal intimidation to get his own way. Another layer: Danil (right) claims he could not have been having an affair with Armando because he is straight and was married to an American woman named Victoria (left) Vindictive: Danil's brother Ivan (left) says that the whole case arose because Danil broke up with Victoria (right) and she was upset so she made up the claims and reported them to the police . Danil Lyapin and his mother claimed they had married for love but after a trial both have now been found guilty. A spokesman for the U.S. District . Attorney’s Office for Eastern Virginia said: ‘The defendant’s (Danil . Lyapin) conduct during the investigation far exceeded most of the other . approximately 120 offenders the government has prosecuted over the past . five years. ‘This defendant was the only one to enter into three distinct marriage frauds. ‘This defendant was particularly hard on his spouses and his girlfriends who were smart enough not to marry him. ‘This defendant made fraudulent filings and set up a fraudulent marriage with his mother.’ Out of character: Friends of Natallia, who had a job as a Russian teacher at a local high school, say she is a very honest person and she never would have made up a marriage . Neither Mr Figuero, who is originally from the Phillipines, or Victoria Lyapin have been charged. In a statement to WTKR, she said: ‘Those who know me and care for me know what the truth is. ‘Those who don’t, I’m unconcerned what they think they know about me. ‘Until they have walked a mile in my . shoes they cannot begin to know anything about me and my life. Do what . you feel is best. I have certainly in my life, in every aspect of it.’ Another casualty of the plot is Danil . Lyapin’s younger brother Ivan who is currently living in the US but now . faces being deported back to Belarus. Asked if he thought his mother’s marriage was fake, he said: ‘No, 100 percent. Armando is my family’. He added that he wanted to join the . military but now faces being sent home to a country he had not been to . for 10 years with no family and no money. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE .
Russian national Natallia Liapina married Armando Figueroa .
Prosecutors allege Figueroa was in a secret relationship with her son Danil .
Danil claims his jealous ex-wife made up the allegations .
By . Daniel Bates . PUBLISHED: . 14:00 EST, 3 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:34 EST, 3 October 2012 . A son has been convicted of making his elderly male lover go through a sham wedding with his Russian mum so she could get a green card and stay in the US. In a convoluted plot, Danil Lyapin, 32, supposedly told besotted Armando Figueroa that the cars and restaurant business he had bought him were not enough. To win his love Mr Figueroa, in his 60s, duly married Natallia Liapina, 54, whom he lived with for 10 years in a fake married life that fooled everyone. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Triangle: Danil Liapina, right, told besotted Armando Figueroa, left, to marry Danil's mother Natallia, center, so that she could get a green card and remain in the United States . The plot unraveled when Belarus-born . Danil Lyapin’s own wife Victoria got angry that he was cheating on her - . and went to the police. In another twist, prosecutors have . claimed that even Danil Lyapin’s marriage was a fake so he could get a . green card and that he had gone through three attempted sham weddings . before. He and his mother - who was called a . ‘master actress’ by a judge - have now been convicted of marriage fraud . and conspiracy and face up to five years in jail. The extraordinary tale came apart in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where all the parties were living. Different couples: Prosecutors allege that the marriage between Natallia and Armando (left) was a sham, and that really Armando was carrying out a secret relationship with Danil (right) Charged: Now Natallia and Danil (but not Armando) face federal charges and deportation . Danil Lyapin and his mother came to . the US on a student exchange programme more than a decade ago and began a . construction business where he hired Mr Figueroa, who was a widower at . the time. Prosecutors claim that even though . Danil Lyapin was married himself, the two men began an affair during . which Mr Figueroa showered him with gifts. That however was not enough for Danil . Lyapin and as his mother was having visa problems, he persuaded Mr . Figueroa to marry his mother, a respected high school teacher, so she . could remain in the US. Over the next several years they lived . a lie and filled up scrapbooks with fake memories and took bogus . photographs and videos on family outings. Prosecutor Joseph DePadilla said that even posts put on social networking websites were part of the elaborate fraud. According to WKTR TV, after years of . watching this happen under her nose Danil Lyapin’s wife got jealous she . was sharing her husband with another man so went to the authorities. By that time her husband had become abusive and supposedly used physical and verbal intimidation to get his own way. Another layer: Danil (right) claims he could not have been having an affair with Armando because he is straight and was married to an American woman named Victoria (left) Vindictive: Danil's brother Ivan (left) says that the whole case arose because Danil broke up with Victoria (right) and she was upset so she made up the claims and reported them to the police . Danil Lyapin and his mother claimed they had married for love but after a trial both have now been found guilty. A spokesman for the U.S. District . Attorney’s Office for Eastern Virginia said: ‘The defendant’s (Danil . Lyapin) conduct during the investigation far exceeded most of the other . approximately 120 offenders the government has prosecuted over the past . five years. ‘This defendant was the only one to enter into three distinct marriage frauds. ‘This defendant was particularly hard on his spouses and his girlfriends who were smart enough not to marry him. ‘This defendant made fraudulent filings and set up a fraudulent marriage with his mother.’ Out of character: Friends of Natallia, who had a job as a Russian teacher at a local high school, say she is a very honest person and she never would have made up a marriage . Neither Mr Figuero, who is originally from the Phillipines, or Victoria Lyapin have been charged. In a statement to WTKR, she said: ‘Those who know me and care for me know what the truth is. ‘Those who don’t, I’m unconcerned what they think they know about me. ‘Until they have walked a mile in my . shoes they cannot begin to know anything about me and my life. Do what . you feel is best. I have certainly in my life, in every aspect of it.’ Another casualty of the plot is Danil . Lyapin’s younger brother Ivan who is currently living in the US but now . faces being deported back to Belarus. Asked if he thought his mother’s marriage was fake, he said: ‘No, 100 percent. Armando is my family’. He added that he wanted to join the . military but now faces being sent home to a country he had not been to . for 10 years with no family and no money. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE .
married Natallia Liapina, 54, whom he lived with Liapina, right, told besotted Armando Figueroa, Different couples: Prosecutors allege that the a secret relationship with Danil (right) Charged: she was upset so she made up the claims and