The Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against 11 people accused of orchestrating a decadelong marriage fraud operation that allegedly engineered more than 1,000 sham marriages between Chinese nationals and U.S. citizens to secure fraudulent green cards.
In his first press conference since he was sworn in this week, Attorney General Todd Blanche called the case “one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history,” alleging the operation was a yearslong, multimillion-dollar enterprise designed to help people obtain lawful permanent resident status through fraudulent marriages.
A 21-page indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York alleges the scheme ran from 2016 through 2026. Prosecutors identified Amy Cheng, Xiao Mei Chan, Gang Zheng, and eight others across the Empire State as alleged facilitators.
According to the indictment, the defendants marketed fraudulent immigration services through word of mouth, social media, and advertising, primarily to Chinese nationals. Clients allegedly paid facilitators up to $100,000 to arrange a marriage and pursue a green card application.
The facilitators allegedly recruited U.S. citizens to participate in the marriages, paying some as much as $30,000, Blanche said. Recruiters allegedly received commissions of about $5,000 for each arrangement.
Prosecutors said the defendants created a “full-service fraud scheme,” arranging wedding ceremonies, hiring officiants and photographers, preparing immigration forms, opening joint bank and cellphone accounts, and coaching couples ahead of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services interviews.
In some instances, according to the indictment, the alleged weddings were staged at restaurants, where participants changed into traditional Chinese wedding clothing and invited friends and relatives to create the appearance of a legitimate ceremony. The indictment includes photographs prosecutors said were submitted to immigration authorities in support of green card applications.
The defendants also allegedly used prenuptial agreements to underscore the purportedly fraudulent nature of the marriages. One agreement stated that, apart from being husband and wife in name, “both parties live independently and must not interfere with each other,” Blanche said.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the network generated “tens of millions of dollars” during its alleged operation and that the investigation began after prosecutors uncovered a communication in an unrelated case.
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The alleged scheme extended beyond New York, with marriages arranged in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Vanuatu, and China, according to the indictment.
McDonald said investigators are continuing to examine other people connected to the alleged network. The defendants are expected to make initial appearances in federal court in White Plains, New York.