Two
brothers found guilty of conspiracy to commit
immigration fraud by massive fiancé visa scheme to smuggle
nationals from the People's Republic of China into the U.S.
Washington, D.C.
- United States Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, Jr., Michael E. Rolince,
Acting Assistant Director in-Charge of the Washington Field Office of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and Allan Doody,
Special Agent-in-Charge of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
Baltimore, Maryland ("ICE") announced today that Chi Fai ("David")
Cheng, 36, of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, and Ming Chung "Michael"
Cheng, 35, of Silver Spring, Maryland, were found guilty by a jury,
after less than three hours of deliberations, following a two-and-one-half
week trial in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The defendants, who are brothers, were found guilty of conspiracy to
commit immigration fraud, in connection with a seven-year scheme to
smuggle People's Republic of China ("PRC") nationals into
the United States through fraudulent use of alien fiancé visas.
Each faces a maximum of five years in jail and a fine of $250,000 dollars
when they are sentenced by Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan, on October 17,
2003. The jury acquitted David Cheng of additional charges of witness
tampering.
The evidence at trial showed that David Cheng and Michael Cheng ran
a large-scale fiancé visa ring, responsible for filing over 25
false petitions with the INS. In this scheme, one of the Cheng brothers,
or an underling, would recruit a young Chinese-American to pose as the
fiancé of a alien seeking to enter the United States illegally.
The Chengs would arrange for the Chinese-American to travel to the PRC,
for an introduction to the Chinese alien and the creation of photographs
in various romantic poses (including a mock family "engagement
party"), purporting to show that the two had become engaged. Later,
under the direction of the Chengs, the Chinese-American would write
letters to and call the alien to further fabricate evidence of a non-existent
relationship, then forward those materials and the photos to the INS
along with a fraudulent petition for a visa to enter the U.S., claiming
that the Chinese person was planning to marry the Chinese-American.
Twelve of these fake-petitioner Chinese-Americans testified at trial
that they were paid an average of $10,000 to pose as a fiancé,
when, in fact, they had no intention of marrying the Chinese person
for whom they applied for a visa. Testimony indicated that the Cheng
brothers were receiving approximately $40,000 from the families in the
PRC of the young Chinese persons. Evidence at the trial also included
a large number of documents, many recovered from the person and car
of David Cheng and from the home of Michael Cheng, some of which had
the defendants fingerprints on them, as well as testimony from numerous
cooperating witnesses. The scheme operated for over seven years. In
the course of the investigation, eight persons had previously entered
guilty pleas and others had entered into deferred prosecution agreements.
The guilty verdict is the result of a joint investigation by the FBI
and the ICE. In announcing today's guilty verdict, U.S. Attorney Howard,
Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Rolince, and Special Agent-in-Charge
Doody commended the concerted efforts of FBI Special Agents Gus Mockenhaupt
and Timothy Foster and Supervisory Special Agent Gay Harrington; ICE
Special Agent Joseph Beahn; MPD Detective Deborah Vanadia; and FBI Fingerprint
Specialist Mitchell Hollars. He also praised Amy Klien and Debbie Dunn
of the Litigation Support Unit, Paralegal Specialist Eugene Lee, and
Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan M. Malis and Jeanne M. Hauch,
who are prosecuting the case, Oliver McDaniel, who initially investigated
the case, and Linda Otani McKinney, who assisted with asset forfeiture.
