| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2007 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
SAN FRANCISCO – United States Attorney Scott N. Schools and Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent In-Charge Patrick Durkin announced that ZHICHENG ZENG and LIN HU MA have pleaded guilty and been sentenced by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White for their roles in a fake marriage scheme. ZHICHENG ZENG was sentenced yesterday to 6 months imprisonment and a $5,000 fine, followed by 3 years supervised release, and LI HUA MA was sentenced on November 1, 2007 to one year probation. In pleading guilty, ZENG admitted to knowingly aiding and abetting the creation and use of immigration documents to obtain immigration benefits knowing that the statements and representations on those documents were false. MA admitted to conspiring to commit marriage fraud by arranging marriages for the purpose of evading immigration laws.
The prosecution is the result of “Operation Blushing Bride,” a three-year investigation conducted by the United States State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. “Operation Blushing Bride” targeted fake marriage brokers operating out of Pasadena and San Gabriel, CA, in 2003 and 2004. These fake marriage brokers offered to marry Chinese nationals to American citizens for a fee, so the Chinese nationals could then apply for and receive immigration benefits, including “green cards.” The marriage brokers advertised in Chinese language newspapers to procure Chinese national customers; recruited United States citizen spouses to marry the Chinese nationals; arranged for the marriages of the Chinese nationals and United States citizens in Las Vegas, NV or Los Angeles, CA; and then assisted the parties in submitting false documents to the immigration authorities to obtain “green cards” and other immigration benefits. These marriages were all fake in that they were arranged and entered into solely to permit the Chinese national to take advantage of immigration laws which allow American citizens to obtain “green cards” or marriage visas for their non-citizen spouses. These fake marriage brokers recruited Chinese nationals residing in California, including the Bay Area.
Those previously convicted and sentenced in “Operation Blushing Bride” were:
On March 6, 2006, Liwei “Grace” Tan Kuo pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Marriage Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. On August 24, 2006, she was sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment.
On March 30, 2006, Ralph Frank Peters pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Marriage Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. On July 27, 2006, he was sentenced to a term of 9 months imprisonment.
On August 3, 2006, Zibu “Bob” Gao, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Marriage Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. On October 26, 2006, he was sentenced to a term of 15 months imprisonment.
On September 5, 2006, following successful completion of Pre-Trial Diversion programs, the complaints against Brandy Douglas, Jennifer Lange, and Tiffany Stuart were dismissed.
"’Operation Blushing Bride’ is an example of what the Diplomatic Security Service does best. We dismantle multi-defendant criminal enterprises that broker in false visas, false immigration forms, and other false documents, to keep imposters and criminals out of the country," Special Agent In-Charge Patrick Durkin of the Diplomatic Security Service, San Francisco Field Office stated.
Anyone involved in or aware of false visa or passport schemes occurring inside the United States or at any American Embassy or Consulate is encouraged to contact DSS at (415) 705-1176.
Denise Marie Barton and Robert David Rees are the Assistant United States Attorneys who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Legal Technicians Wilson Wong, Hui Chen, and Miché Sharpe.
Further Information:
Case # CR 05-00465 JSW
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Joshua Eaton at (415) 436-6958 or by email at Josh.Eaton@usdoj.gov.