US charges 11 in sham marriage immigration scheme involving Chinese nationals
United States officials believe more than 1,000 sham marriages were arranged over a decade, mainly for Chinese nationals seeking green cards. They included matches with at least 14 active members of the United States Army.
WASHINGTON: The Department of Justice has charged 11 people with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to US citizens, officials said on Wednesday (Aug 12).
American citizens were paid as much as US$30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status as part of the scheme orchestrated from New York, according to court papers.
The defendants charged up to US$100,000 per green card, bringing in tens of millions of dollars over the course of the decade-long scheme, according to officials.
The suspects, aged between 26 and 72, were arrested on Wednesday morning, the US Department of Justice said in a press release.** **
From at least 2016, they operated a "nationwide and international marriage fraud network" that arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals, primarily from China, and US citizens.
While mainly based in New York City, the network allegedly arranged bogus marriages throughout the US and overseas, including Vanuatu and China.** **
Authorities believe the group arranged more than 1,000 sham weddings, describing it as one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in US history.
WHO ARE THE 11 PEOPLE CHARGED?
- Amy Cheng, also known as “Amy Zhou”, 72, of Brooklyn, New York
- Xiao Mei Chan, also known as “Carmen”, 64, of Queens, New York
- Christine Lu, also known as “Lily”, 52, of Queens
- Jing Yan Ye, also known as “Serene", 43, of Staten Island, New York
- Xiao Yan Chen, also known as “Anna”, 48, of Brooklyn
- Gang Zheng, also known as “Michael” and “Mike", 61, of Queens
- Anthony Cheng, 47, of Staten Island
- Michelle Duenas, 35, of Staten Island
- Angela Duenas, 26, of Staten Island
- Sigrid Cetino, 32, of Peekskill, New York
- Erika Johnson, 43, of Ossining, New York
“This scheme was not a quick, fly-by-night operation but rather a years-long, multibillion-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States,” Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters.
FAKE WEDDINGS
After recruiting US citizens, the defendants would arrange fake weddings and, in some cases, stage photos of families at places such as restaurants afterwards to make them look legitimate, according to officials.
The defendants would then help the immigrants through the lawful permanent status application process.
“These schemes have real cost. They rob our country of its ability to know who should be and who should not be allowed in America,” Blanche said.
The 11 defendants, including people accused of officiating the sham weddings, were charged in an indictment filed in New York. It was not immediately clear on Wednesday whether they had lawyers to speak on their behalf.
Four of the defendants allegedly conspired to recruit at least 14 active members of the US Army to engage in sham marriages with foreign nationals, including 11 Chinese citizens, according to the indictment.
The charges come against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration that have sought to crack down on who is able to enter the country or become a citizen.
Last Thursday, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders in a fresh attempt to curtail birthright citizenship, once again challenging a provision of the US Constitution even though the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort.
Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in Trump's crackdown on immigration, with the White House taking particular aim at what it calls "birth tourism", in which pregnant foreigners travel to the US to give birth.