Dominican Republic Wedding Scam

Couples who thought getting married at a tropical resort in Dominican Republic was the dream wedding setting may be in for a rude and illegal awakening. That romantic wedding ceremony on the beach in Dominican Republic may have been picture perfect - but not legal.

Investigators in Dominican's National Department of Investigations have uncovered what they are calling a wedding scam involving more than 200 British and Canadian couples who paid hundreds of dollars for Dominican marriages that were never officially registered. Four employees, uncertified officials of the Central Electoral Board that oversees civil marriages, have been detained, and are suspected of colluding with local Dominican Republic hotels to swindle foreign couples with Caribbean wedding packages where fraudulent wedding ceremonies took place.

The Dominican Republic is a popular destination for couples combining a wedding and honeymoon. The Dominican Republic's tourism website states that wedding registration fees are $455. but fees can run much higher if a resort plans the ceremony which is the case for most foreign brides and groom intent on a romantic Caribbean wedding and honeymoon.

The wedding ceremonies in question took place from July 2007 to February 2008 in the eastern Dominican Republic.

If you or someone you know was married at a hotel resort in the Dominican Republic during that time, it would be prudent to verify whether or not the marriage papers are legitimate or part of this wedding scam.