#USCIS #MarriageFraud #China #California #MontereyPark #Irvine #Chinese #AnchorBaby
A California man has confessed to arranging 'sham marriages' between U.S. citizens and Chinese nationals, who paid as much as $60,000 in the hopes of obtaining green cards.
Chang Yu 'Andy' He, of Monterey Park, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in the Central District of California.
He, owner of Fair Price Immigration Service, faces up to five years in federal prison and a judge scheduled his sentencing hearing for February 1, 2021.
According to a plea agreement, He recruited American citizens to enter into fraudulent marriages with Chinese nationals, who then turned in documents to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
'This investigation began in March 2017 based on information provided by an anonymous source,' authorities wrote in a statement.
'Law enforcement authorities believe the defendants’ clients learned about the service through word of mouth and from advertisements in Chinese newspapers.'
He, 55, admitted to facilitating sham marriages for three couples in California and Minnesota from January 2018 to November 2019.
But unknown to He, some of the Americans participating in the scheme were actually undercover agents with Homeland Security Investigations.
He met with two other undercover agents and a co-defendant to arrange sham marriages with Chinese nationals.
The defendant admitted to prosecutors that he coached Chinese nationals and American citizens on how to make their marriages appear authentic.
This included created a fake paper trail and memorizing answers to questions immigration officers could ask during interviews.
The couples were also instructed to secure joint bank accounts and joint apartment leases. They were told to keep clothes in the apartments where couples allegedly lived together and stop by several times a week so neighbors would see them.
In October 2018, He introduced an undercover agent to co-defendant Xiaojun Han, 40, of Irvine, to arrange a sham marriage to obtain a green card.
He gave the undercover agent $10,000 to enter the marriage. The pair later met again in April 2019 at Rosemead Public Library, where they worked on Han's immigration paperwork.
The undercover agent was told that he'd receive $25,000 when Han obtained a green card, as well as $5,000 when the process concluded.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Central District of California, some of He's clients have also faced charges.
Huanzhang Wu, 29, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Zhongnan Liu, 34, of San Diego, paid He to enter into sham marriages. They both pleaded guilty.
Wu was sentenced to one year of probation, while Liu's sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 5.
Han and Xiulan 'Cindy' Wang, 47, of San Gabriel, are scheduled to appear for trial on March 16, 2021.
