Chinese nationals charged with arranging sham marriages to game U.S. immigration system

A group of Chinese nationals organized several sham marriages with current and former military members to expedite the process of becoming U.S. residents, prosecutors said.

Federal officials said they charged 11 Chinese nationals in the scheme that saw the phony American spouses get paid up to $35,000 for marrying, obtaining a green card and divorcing their supposed lover. 

Prosecutors said the conspirators ventured to Connecticut, Nevada, New York and Jacksonville, Florida, to set up the fraudulent nuptials that were often done shortly after the two newlyweds-to-be met.  

The suspects even threw a wedding reception and took photos to sell the con to immigration authorities.

Charging documents for the Chinese nationals — Anny Chen, Sha Xie, Linlin Wang, Jiawei Chen, Yafeng Deng, Hailing Feng, Kiah Holly, Xionghu Fang, Tao Fan, Jaden Bullion and Kin Man Cheok — said they specifically sought out military service members to be involved in the fraud ring that lasted from March 2024 to February 2025.

Prosecutors said former Navy service members Raymond Zumba, Brinio Urena, Morgan Chambers and Jacinth Bailey have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. None has been sentenced.

Court filings note Zumba as the first American spouse tied to the sham marriages, and he helped recruit the others to join in.

Zumba was recorded telling a confidential source about the lucrative payments linked to the fake weddings, according to the documents. 

All 11 Chinese nationals face charges of marriage fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars.

Anny Chen and Wang also face a separate marriage fraud charge. A conviction for that offense could tack on another five years in prison.

Additionally, Anny Chen, Feng and Cheok were charged with bribery conspiracy after they were accused of paying $3,500 to naval servicemembers to illegally obtain military service ID cards.

When the IDs were delivered to Zumba in February 2025, prosecutors said the former servicemember was arrested and the scheme began to unravel.