NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (DC Times Online) — Federal prosecutors in New York have charged 11 people with allegedly arranging more than 1,000 sham marriages over more than a decade, in what the Justice Department calls one of the largest marriage-fraud cases in U.S. history.
The two-count indictment was unsealed Aug. 12 in the Southern District of New York. Attorney General Todd Blanche discussed the case at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
The defendants are Amy Cheng, Xiao Mei Chan, Christine Lu, Jing Yan Ye, Xiao Yan Chen, Gang Zheng, Anthony Cheng, Michelle Duenas, Angela Duenas, Sigrid Cetino and Erika Johnson. The indictment charges each with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, as well as conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of noncitizens in the United States.
The charges are accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What prosecutors allege
According to the Justice Department’s description of the indictment, the alleged network operated from at least 2016 through July 2026. It was based mainly in New York City but arranged marriages across the United States and overseas.
The alleged activity extended to Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, as well as China and Vanuatu, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that the network connected foreign nationals, primarily citizens of the People’s Republic of China, with U.S. citizens willing to enter sham marriages. A sham marriage in this context is a marriage entered into mainly to help someone obtain an immigration benefit, rather than a genuine marital relationship.
The foreign nationals allegedly paid facilitators as much as about $100,000 for a marriage and help seeking lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card. U.S. citizens allegedly received up to about $30,000, generally in installments linked to stages of a green-card application. Recruiters allegedly received up to about $5,000 for each U.S. citizen they brought into the scheme.
The Justice Department said prosecutors believe the network collected tens of millions of dollars.
How the alleged scheme worked
The indictment alleges that the network submitted at least hundreds of fraudulent green-card applications and supporting documents to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Prosecutors also allege that participants used advertising and social media to find potential spouses. In some cases, the network allegedly arranged wedding photographs or ceremonies and created joint accounts or other records designed to make the marriages appear legitimate.
Those types of documents can be used to show that a marriage is genuine during the immigration process. The allegations do not establish how many of the applications were approved or how many marriages resulted in green cards.
The alleged operation involved facilitators, recruiters, U.S. citizens recruited as spouses, foreign-national customers and people who helped prepare immigration paperwork. The Justice Department’s public announcement does not specify the alleged role of each named defendant.
What the charges mean
The first conspiracy count—marriage fraud and immigration fraud—carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison if a defendant is convicted. The second count, conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of noncitizens, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Those are statutory maximums, not expected sentences. Any sentence would depend on a conviction and the facts of an individual defendant’s case.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald, whose office brought the case in the Southern District of New York, said the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators used participants to profit from U.S. immigration laws. Blanche called the case “one of the largest marriage fraud schemes charged in United States history.”
The public materials available about the case do not identify a case number or judge and do not state whether the defendants have entered pleas. They also do not provide defense statements or say whether any charges have been dismissed or resolved.
