The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 11 people in a decade-long marriage fraud scheme that allegedly arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages across the United States and overseas to help foreign nationals—primarily citizens of the People’s Republic of China—fraudulently obtain U.S. immigration status.
The charges were announced Wednesday, August 12, 2026, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, following the unsealing of a two-count indictment. Prosecutors said some foreign nationals allegedly paid as much as US$100,000 for a sham marriage and assistance obtaining lawful permanent resident status.
“This Department of Justice is rooting out fraud everywhere — including in our immigration system,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “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, all arrested Wednesday morning, are expected to be arraigned. They are Amy Cheng, also known as “Amy Zhou,” 72, of Brooklyn; 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; and Erika Johnson, 43, of Ossining.
According to the indictment, the alleged operation ran from at least 2016 through July 2026, with its principal base in New York City but a reach extending across the United States and internationally, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Vanuatu and China.
Prosecutors said the network operated through facilitators, recruiters and assistants. Facilitators allegedly identified foreign-national customers and arranged the marriages, recruiters found U.S. citizens willing to participate, and assistants prepared immigration paperwork and coordinated fraudulent Green Card applications submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The alleged scheme also relied on marriage officiants, attorneys, tax preparers, insurance providers and other service providers.
Foreign nationals allegedly paid facilitators up to approximately US$100,000, while participating U.S. citizens could receive as much as US$30,000, generally in installments tied to stages of the Green Card process. Recruiters allegedly received commissions of up to US$5,000 for each U.S. citizen recruited.
In many cases, prosecutors allege, the participants barely knew each other and sometimes met shortly before obtaining a marriage license. The network allegedly staged wedding ceremonies and photographs to make the relationships appear legitimate.
After the ceremonies, participants allegedly created additional evidence of supposedly genuine marriages by opening joint financial and utility accounts, filing joint tax returns and obtaining insurance policies. They were also allegedly coached on how to answer USCIS questions and conceal the fraudulent nature of their relationships.
“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,” said Acting Executive Associate Director John Condon of Homeland Security Investigations.
Officials said the network caused at least hundreds of fraudulent Green Card applications and supporting documents to be submitted to USCIS and is believed to have collected tens of millions of dollars from foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent residency.
“Anyone willing to lie, cheat or steal their way to legal immigration status is a direct threat to America’s national security,” said USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow. “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is aggressively pursuing marriage fraud schemes and the criminal organizations and ringleaders who profit from them.”
Federal authorities executed search warrants at several locations in New York, including Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Flushing in Queens, as part of the investigation.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the arrests dismantled what prosecutors described as a central component of one of the largest marriage fraud schemes charged in U.S. history.
“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. As this prosecution shows, we and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those seeking to corrupt and exploit our nation’s lawful immigration system.”
Each defendant faces one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted. They also face one count of conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI 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 are prosecuting the case.
An indictment contains allegations only. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
