The feds nabbed 11 suspects accused of operating a decade-long, multimillion-dollar marriage fraud scheme that resulted in around 1,000 sham weddings between primarily Chinese nationals and US citizens for the purpose of getting the Asians green cards.
The “cottage industry” uncovered Wednesday charged foreign nationals up to $100,000 for each fake union, including submitting fraudulent applications to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of those seeking lawful permanent residency.
The sham wedding ring used advertisements on social media platforms, held phony marraige ceremonies and even had both parties to the fake unions sign bizarre pre-nuptial agreements, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York alleged.
One of those agreements expressly stated that “except in the name of husband and wife, both parties live independently and must not interfere with each other,” according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Each defendant faces charges of conspiring to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud as well as conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the US.
All 11 of the alleged scheme participants were expected to make their initial appearance in White Plains federal court later Wednesday.
“This was one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche at a DC press conference.
Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald claimed that the scheme raked in tens of millions of dollars over the past 10 years.
According to the 21-page indictment unsealed Wednesday, the green card scheme involved recruiters of both foreign national customers and US citizens, assistants who submitted the false green card applications as well as attorneys, tax preparers and bogus marriage officiants
The American members of the sham couples were paid around $30,000 to participate in the performance, prosecutors said.
Recruiters received up to $5,000 for each US citizen they brought into the scheme, with hundreds ultimately participating.
hough most of the gang’s activity took place in New York City, the ring also operated in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, China and the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
The defendants, all but one of whom are naturalized from China, included Amy Cheng, 72; Xiao Mei Chan, 64; Christine Lu, 52; Jing Yan Ye, 43; Xiao Yan Chen, 48; Gang Zheng, 61; Anthony Cheng, 47; Michelle Duenas, 35; Angela Duenas, 26; Sigrid Cetino, 32; and Erika Johnson, 43.
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