NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (DC Times Online) — Federal prosecutors in New York have charged 11 people with allegedly arranging more than 1,000 sham marriages over a decade, in what the Justice Department called one of the largest marriage-fraud schemes charged in U.S. history.
The two-count indictment was unsealed Aug. 12, 2026, after Attorney General Todd Blanche discussed the case at a news conference in Washington, D.C. The charges were brought in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The defendants are Amy Cheng, Xiao Mei Chan, Christine Lu, Jing Yan Ye, Xiao Yan Chen, Gang Zheng, Anthony Cheng, Michelle Duenas, Angela Duenas, Sigrid Cetino and Erika Johnson. The indictment charges each with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, and conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States.
The defendants have been accused, not found guilty. Each charge carries a possible prison sentence if a defendant is convicted. The marriage- and immigration-fraud conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years, while the conspiracy to encourage unlawful residence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, according to the Justice Department.
How the alleged scheme worked
According to the indictment summary released by the Justice Department, the network operated from at least 2016 through July 2026. It was based mainly in New York City but allegedly arranged marriages in several states and overseas, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Vanuatu and China.
Prosecutors allege that foreign nationals, primarily from the People’s Republic of China, paid facilitators as much as approximately $100,000 for a sham marriage and help seeking lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card.
U.S. citizens who agreed to participate allegedly received as much as approximately $30,000, usually in installments tied to stages of the green-card application process. Recruiters allegedly received up to approximately $5,000 for each U.S. citizen they recruited.
The indictment alleges that the network submitted at least hundreds of fraudulent green-card applications and supporting documents to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prosecutors said they believe the operation collected tens of millions of dollars from foreign nationals seeking permanent resident status.
The alleged conduct included efforts to make the marriages appear genuine. The indictment summary describes the use of advertising and social media to find participants, along with staged wedding photographs or ceremonies and other records intended to support the applications.
What prosecutors say about the case
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald, whose office is prosecuting the case, described the alleged operation as a nationwide and international business that used participants to profit from immigration laws.
“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, according to the Justice Department.
Blanche called it “one of the largest marriage fraud schemes charged in United States history.” He also said the alleged operation was a yearslong business rather than a short-term effort.
That description is a characterization by prosecutors, not an official ranking based on a published comparison of all U.S. marriage-fraud cases. The Justice Department’s announcement supports describing the alleged proceeds as multimillion-dollar or in the tens of millions, rather than billions.
What remains unknown
The materials released by prosecutors do not establish how many of the more than 1,000 marriages resulted in approved green cards. They also do not say how many participants remain unidentified or uncharged.
The supplied case information does not include a case number, assigned judge, individual arrest records, plea information or statements from defense lawyers. It also does not provide the precise number of alleged sham marriages beyond the Justice Department’s description of more than 1,000.
The charges are allegations. The defendants will have the opportunity to respond in court, and the government must prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
