The United States Department of Justice has announced the arrest of 11 people accused of operating a decade-long, multimillion-dollar immigration fraud network that allegedly arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages, primarily between Chinese nationals and U.S. citizens, to fraudulently obtain Green Cards.
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Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the arrests after a two-count indictment was unsealed, describing the operation as one of the largest marriage fraud schemes ever prosecuted in the United States.
According to prosecutors, the alleged conspiracy operated for more than a decade and paired foreign nationals, primarily citizens of the People’s Republic of China, with willing U.S. citizens for marriages that existed only for immigration purposes.
Some foreign nationals allegedly paid as much as $100,000 for a sham marriage and assistance in obtaining lawful permanent resident status.
“This Department of Justice is rooting out fraud everywhere — including in our immigration system,” Blanche said.
“The individuals who were arrested today allegedly orchestrated elaborate schemes to illegally obtain citizenship for foreign nationals through sham marriages. Schemes like this are a deliberate affront to the United States and our laws and will not be tolerated under the Trump Administration.”
The defendants arrested are Amy Cheng, also known as Amy Zhou, 72, of Brooklyn, New York; Xiao Mei Chan, also known as Carmen, 64, of Queens; Christine Lu, also known as Lily, 52, of Queens; Jing Yan Ye, also known as Serene, 43, of Staten Island; Xiao Yan Chen, also known as Anna, 48, of Brooklyn; Gang Zheng, also known as Michael and Mike, 61, of Queens; Anthony Cheng, 47, of Staten Island; Michelle Duenas, 35, of Staten Island; Angela Duenas, 26, of Staten Island; Sigrid Cetino, 32, of Peekskill, New York; and Erika Johnson, 43, of Ossining, New York.
Prosecutors said the defendants were arrested on Wednesday morning and were expected to be arraigned later in the day.
According to the indictment, the alleged network operated from at least 2016 until July 2026 and arranged sham marriages across the United States and internationally.
Although principally based in New York City, prosecutors alleged that marriages connected to the network were arranged in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, as well as overseas in Vanuatu and China.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators operated a nationwide and international multimillion-dollar enterprise designed to exploit U.S. immigration laws for profit.
“The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly operated a nationwide and international, multimillion-dollar marriage fraud scheme, using participants to abuse United States immigration laws for their own profit,” McDonald said.
“Today’s arrests have dismantled a central component of one of the largest marriage fraud schemes charged in United States history.”
Prosecutors said the organisation had different layers of participants, including facilitators who allegedly managed the operation and identified foreign-national customers, recruiters responsible for finding U.S. citizens willing to participate, and assistants who prepared immigration documents and coordinated applications for lawful permanent residence.
The alleged operation was also said to have relied on marriage officiants, attorneys, tax preparers, insurance providers and other service providers.
Foreign nationals allegedly paid facilitators as much as approximately $100,000 each to arrange marriages and assist them through the Green Card process.
The facilitators, in turn, allegedly paid participating U.S. citizens as much as $30,000, usually in instalments tied to stages in the immigration process.
Recruiters were allegedly paid commissions of up to approximately $5,000 for each U.S. citizen they recruited.
Prosecutors said hundreds of U.S. citizens were recruited to participate in the alleged arrangement.
The indictment alleged that some supposed couples met for the first time only shortly before obtaining marriage licences.
They would then participate in staged wedding ceremonies and take photographs designed to create the appearance of a genuine marital relationship.
Prosecutors disclosed photographs which they said showed examples of alleged sham ceremonies, including one involving Anthony Cheng and Erika Johnson on or about January 15, 2025, as well as another involving Sigrid Cetino and Anthony Cheng on or about December 17, 2024.
Another alleged sham wedding ceremony was said to have taken place in China.
After the ceremonies, prosecutors alleged that participants created additional evidence intended to convince U.S. immigration authorities that their marriages were genuine.
Such evidence allegedly included staged photographs, joint bank and utility accounts, jointly filed tax returns and insurance policies.
The defendants and their alleged co-conspirators would thereafter prepare and submit applications for lawful permanent residence containing what prosecutors described as materially false statements.
Where U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services required interviews, the alleged marriage participants were reportedly coached on how to conceal the true nature of their relationships and provide false answers to immigration officers.
Authorities said at least hundreds of fraudulent Green Card applications and supporting documents were submitted to USCIS as part of the alleged scheme.
Based on the scale and duration of the alleged operation, prosecutors believe the network collected tens of millions of dollars from foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent residence in the United States.
Acting Executive Associate Director John Condon of Homeland Security Investigations said the alleged scheme had transformed marriage fraud into an international business model.
“As alleged, this decade-long scheme turned marriage fraud into an international business model arranging countless sham marriages and causing hundreds of fraudulent Green Card applications to be submitted to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Condon said.
He said Homeland Security Investigations and its partners would continue targeting networks accused of exploiting federal immigration laws for financial gain.
During Wednesday’s arrests, law enforcement officers also executed search warrants at several locations in New York, including premises in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Flushing, Queens.
Each of the 11 defendants has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud.
If convicted, that charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Each defendant has also been charged with one count of conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment upon conviction.
The allegations contained in the indictment remain accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Hudson Valley; the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force; USCIS’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division; and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jake Sidransky and Reyhan Watson of the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
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