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The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 11 radical successful an alleged "marriage fraud" ring, accusing them of mounting up sham weddings for migration purposes. An indictment unsealed Wednesday successful Florida accuses the suspects of engaging successful a conspiracy to enlistee Americans, preferably U.S. work members, for marriages with Chinese nationals.
Prosecutors impeach Anny Chen, 54, who lives successful New York, and different conspirator of recruiting U.S. Navy work subordinate Raymond Zumba to wed a Chinese national, Sha Xie, 38. The tribunal documents accidental the brace wed successful Brooklyn successful April 2024, with others attending a enactment and taking photos astatine the event. Prosecutors said the photos were included successful migration paperwork to person authorities that the matrimony was real.
Prosecutors said Chen, a naturalized U.S. national from China, paid Zumba $10,000 successful currency astatine the wedding for agreeing to the marriage. Zumba was past allegedly persuaded to enactment arsenic a recruiter for different Navy cadets to participate into sham marriages with Chinese nationals, according to the indictment.
But Chen and Zumba, on with different conspirators, took it 1 measurement further, prosecutors said, by trying to obtaining subject recognition cards for the caller spouses.
A "sham marriage" with imaginable subject benefits
Once Zumba agreed to assistance Chen enlistee Navy cadets, marriages started to determination quickly, prosecutors allege. Conspirators are accused of taking portion successful specified weddings successful Jacksonville, Florida; New York, Connecticut and Nevada.
According to prosecutors, recruiters promised a currency outgo up front, a 2nd outgo aft the spouse obtained ineligible migration status, and a last outgo aft the mates divorced.
Several marriages occurred from March 2024 until Feb. 8, 2025, erstwhile tribunal documents accidental Zumba tried to enlistee idiosyncratic inactive successful the Navy. He allegedly told the root that couples tin get paid up to $35,000 for a sham marriage, with $10,000 paid up front. He besides spoke to the root astir obtaining military recognition cards for the newly-married spouses, which would let them imaginable entree to the subject installations, commissaries and recreation.
The Navy subordinate was married, and his woman worked successful the unit bureau astatine Naval Air Station Jacksonville that issued the cards. According to the indictment, Zumba said the cards would beryllium for unspecified individuals from China and that helium could wage up to $1,500 per card. During a bid of conversations, tribunal documents said, helium worked to entice the root to hold to supply the cards by letting him cognize that the Chinese nationals paid for his question to Las Vegas and a imaginable upcoming travel to Miami.
He past accrued the terms for the cards to $3,500, according to a transgression ailment filed successful his case.
"I tin spell to immoderate subject basal astatine immoderate clip with this card," Chen allegedly wrote successful a substance connection to Zumba during a treatment astir obtaining the cards, adding that she could get escaped aesculapian attraction and store connected base.
The root went to instrumentality enforcement with the information, and instrumentality enforcement worked with the Navy subordinate to acceptable up a transaction.
The root arranged to conscionable Zumba, Chen and others successful Florida to prime up a shipment of the subject recognition cards. Then, prosecutors say, the root handed implicit the cards, the defendants gave him the wealth — and agents arrested the defendants.
"This lawsuit represents the value of associated efforts by NCIS and Homeland Security Investigations indispensable to safeguard our captious subject infrastructures and disrupt fraudulent methods of access," Special Agent successful Charge Norm Dominesey of the NCIS Southeast Field Office said successful a connection astatine the clip of Zumba's arrest.
In the indictment, U.S. citizens Anny Chen, 54, Yafeng Deng, 23, Hailing Feng, 27, Kiah Holly, 29, and Jaden Bullion, 24, were charged with matrimony fraud conspiracy.
Chinese nationals Sha Xie, 38, Linlin Wang, 38, Jiawei Chen, 29, Xionghu Fang, 41, Tao Fan, 26 and Kin Man Cheok, 32, were charged with matrimony fraud conspiracy.
Anny Chen and Linlin Wang each look an further complaint of matrimony fraud, portion Hailing Feng and Kin Man Cheok had an further bribery charge, the indictment said.
A petition for remark from CBS News to Bullion's lawyer was not returned earlier publication; the different defendants bash not person attorneys listed yet connected their tribunal records.
Zumba, Brinio Urena, Morgan Chambers, and Jacinth Bailey, erstwhile work members successful the United States Navy, person each pleaded blameworthy to charges related to the aforesaid scheme. Zumba faces a maximum punishment of 15 years successful national prison.
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