The day Sonia Falcone has been dreading has finally arrived. The Paradise Valley philanthropist and socialite is leaving the U.S. today with her three young children.
Her departure is part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, stemming from a misdemeanor charge of hiring foreign workers not legally authorized to work for her.
But the former international beauty queen, described by friends as a gracious and generous benefactor, didn't leave town quietly.
Falcone wanted one last evening with her Arizona friends before she temporarily resettles her family in Beijing, China.
"I want them to know how appreciative I am of their friendship," said Falcone, who spoke last week at the private dinner party she threw for 70 of her friends at the Calvin Charles Gallery in downtown Scottsdale.
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Falcone's departure closes a dark chapter in a seemingly charmed life.
Her troubles began in early 2006 when federal prosecutors alleged Falcone, a native of Bolivia, fraudulently obtained an alien registration card by engaging in marriage fraud. Prosecutors alleged Falcone's first marriage in the early '80s was a sham, said her attorney Grant Woods. She married second husband billionaire businessman Pierre Falcone in 1994.
The indictment also alleged Falcone made a false statement on an immigration form when she was applying for U.S. citizenship. Falcone, who was never granted citizenship, was charged with unlawful possession of an immigration document, perjury, making a false statement in an immigration document and attempted unlawful procurement of naturalization.
Falcone was also charged with employing workers at her multimillion-dollar Paradise Valley mansion who were not legally authorized to work for her.
"The workers were not illegal. They were here on religious visas," said Woods, adding Falcone met them at church.
Three felony charges carried maximum terms of 10 years, while the perjury charge carried a maximum five-year sentence.
Those charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement in which Falcone pleaded guilty to hiring unauthorized workers and was ordered to leave the country. According to a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Falcone is barred from visiting the U.S. for the next 10 years.
Some of Falcone's supporters allege she was targeted because of her husband, who has lived overseas the past several years and gained international attention in the early '90s for alleged involvement in an illegal arms trafficking deal to Angola. Falcone served time in a French prison but has never been charged or convicted.
U.S. authorities have denied the indictments against Sonia Falcone had anything to do with her husband.
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