Marriage Scam Exposed: DOJ Busts Chinese Scheme Targeting U.S. Military

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that multiple Chinese nationals and American citizens had been charged with carrying out a marriage fraud scheme targeting members of the U.S. military. 

The scheme involved recruiters paying Americans tens of thousands of dollars to enter into “sham” marriages with Chinese nationals for immigration purposes, according to the Justice Department. In one instance, investigators said that a female member of the Navy married and met a Chinese national on the same day at a wedding service in Las Vegas. 

The charged individuals were Anny Chen, Sha Xie (China), Linlin Wang (China), Jiawei Chen (China), Yafeng Deng, Hailing Feng, Kiah Holly, Xionghu Fang (China), Tao Fan (China), Jaden Bullion, and Kin Man Cheok (China). None of the defendants, except Bullion, had lawyers listed to represent them. They could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday and said that conspirators “preferred to recruit U.S. citizens who were members of the U.S. armed forces to join the conspiracy and marry Chinese nationals.” 

The entire conspiracy stretched from March 2024 to February 2025 and took place in Florida, New York, and Nevada, according to the indictment. In general, a recruiter would promise to pay an American $10,000 to marry a Chinese national, $20,000 after a valid ID was issued to the Chinese national, and another $5,000 after they divorced. 

The eleven named in the indictment are alleged to have worked with Raymond Zumba (former Navy reservist), Brinio Urena (former Navy recruiter), Jacinth Bailey (Navy), and Morgan Chambers (Navy). Lawyers for Bailey and Chambers declined to comment. 

In July, Zumba pleaded guilty to attempting to bribe the spouse of an individual working in the personnel office of the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. Zumba hoped to obtain ID cards in exchange for cash. 

In March 2024, investigators said that Anny Chen and another conspirator recruited Zumba to marry Sha Xie, a Chinese national. The marriage took place in Brooklyn in April of that year, and wedding photos were taken to perpetuate the scheme, according to the indictment. Zumba allegedly received $10,000 from Chen for the marriage. 

Zumba was then accused of recruiting Urena in May 2024 to “enter into a sham marriage with a Chinese national in exchange for a cash payment.” 

In another example of the conspiracy, the Justice Department said that Chambers met and married Jiawei Chen in Las Vegas on October 4, 2024, according to the indictment. She was allegedly paid $10,000 in a restaurant restroom by Chen for the marriage.

The others were alleged to have engaged in similar activities and messaged about plans to participate in the scheme.