Nearly a dozen people tied to a decade-long marriage fraud network allegedly involving more than 1,000 sham unions face federal charges related to a scheme that charged Chinese nationals up to $100,000 to participate in fake marriages to U.S. citizens in an effort to secure green cards, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
A federal indictment unsealed in New York City names 11 defendants — all naturalized U.S. citizens from China and one green card holder — for their roles in the marriage and immigration fraud scheme.
They were charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, immigration document fraud and conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States, the Justice Department said.
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The indictment is one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in the U.S., authorities said.
"This scheme was not a quick fly-by-night operation, but rather a years-long, multimillion-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States," U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
Some of the defendants worked as facilitators, recruiters and officiants, authorities said.
They were identified as: 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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The alleged New York City-based fraud ran from at least 2016 through July 2026, involving mostly Chinese citizens who married U.S. citizens, prosecutors said.
The network included facilitators who oversaw the alleged scheme and identified foreigners, recruiters who found willing American citizens and helped ensure their continued participation and assistants who prepared immigration paperwork and coordinated the submission of green card applications, authorities said.
The foreigners paid as much as $100,000 for the sham marriages, the DOJ said. U.S. citizens involved were paid as much as $30,000, mostly in installments tied to milestones in the green card application process. Recruiters were paid commissions of high as $5,000 for each citizen willing to participate, authorities said.
The alleged fake marriages took place across the U.S. and overseas, including Vanuatu and China.
To conceal the fraud, the defendants would stage photos of families at restaurants to create the appearance of a legitimate wedding, complete with wedding attire, photographers and attendees, Blanche said.
"After the married couples would visit a local office affiliated with the scheme, sign forms for submission to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, learn about the USCIS interview process to apply for a green card, they would then execute prenuptial agreements, which, not surprisingly — given the allegation these were sham marriages — waived their rights to share in the other's estate upon death," he said.
The scheme also relied on marriage officiants, attorneys, tax preparers, insurance providers and other service providers.
The couples were coached before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) interviews, and once a foreign national obtained a green card, the organizers allegedly arranged for a divorce.
"We believe this network took in tens of millions of dollars over its decade-long operation, making it one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in U.S. history," said Jamie McDonald, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Authorities were looking into whether the federal government will revoke the green cards for those involved in the fake marriages, McDonald said.
The Trump administration has prioritized cracking down on marriage and immigration fraud as a key part of its enforcement efforts. Officials have emphasized stricter interviews, increased arrests and prosecutions of participants in sham marriage networks and increased scrutiny of documents.
In February, 11 people were charged in a similar alleged marriage fraud scheme that involved the recruitment of U.S. military service members to marry Chinese citizens.
The scheme was orchestrated by a Chinese transnational gang that recruited military members to participate in fraudulent marriages so that Chinese citizens could obtain immigration benefits and access cards for U.S. military installations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said at the time.