United States officials believe more than 1,000 sham marriages were arranged over a decade, mainly for Chinese nationals seeking green cards. They included matches with at least 14 active members of the United States Army.
A photo of a sham marriage ceremony held on Jan 15, 2025, between a foreign national (left) and one of the suspects, Erika Johnson. It was officiated by another defendant, Anthony Cheng (centre), according to court documents. (Photo: United States Department of Justice)
14 Aug 2026 01:24PM
WASHINGTON: The Department of Justice has charged 11 people with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to US citizens, officials said on Wednesday (Aug 12).American citizens were paid as much as US$30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status as part of the scheme orchestrated from New York, according to court papers.The defendants charged up to US$100,000 per green card, bringing in tens of millions of dollars over the course of the decade-long scheme, according to officials.The suspects, aged between 26 and 72, were arrested on Wednesday morning, the US Department of Justice said in a press release. From at least 2016, they operated a "nationwide and international marriage fraud network" that arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals, primarily from China, and US citizens. While mainly based in New York City, the network allegedly arranged bogus marriages throughout the US and overseas, including Vanuatu and China. Authorities believe the group arranged more than 1,000 sham weddings, describing it as one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in US history.
