FW: imm scam story
Daniel Huang
Daniel Huang
Policy Advocate, Immigrant
Rights Project
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
1145 Wilshire
Blvd., 2nd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017
Tel: (213) 977-7500 Ext.
237 Fax: (213) 977-7595
From: Mark Yoshida [mailto:myos...@apalc.org]
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 8:01 AM
To: Cevadne Lee; Minako Suzuki; 'Karin Wang'; dhu...@apalc.org
Subject: imm scam story
FYI: from LA Times today. M.
10 arrested in immigration scam probe
4 O.C. suspects and 6 from San Gabriel Valley are caught in federal investigation into phony marriages to Chinese men and women.
By H.G. Reza, Times Staff Writer
July 13, 2007
Ten more suspects have been snared in an
ongoing federal investigation into a scam involving Asians willing to pay
thousands of dollars to immigrate to this country by entering into phony
marriages with U.S. citizens from Vietnamese and Chinese communities in Southern
California.
The defendants, who come from the Little Saigon area of
Westminster and the San Gabriel Valley, were indicted on charges of posing as
spouses in order to petition for green cards for men and women to emigrate from
China, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said
Thursday.
Some suspects had petitioned for as many as 10 spouses, said
Frank Johnston, ICE assistant agent in charge in Los Angeles. The arrests are
the latest in a five-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, which
has already resulted in 49 convictions.
Johnston said this kind of scam
was relatively easy to get away with until a few years ago, because immigration
officials did not have the resources to identify suspects who petitioned for
multiple spouses. It is usually easier for foreigners to qualify for a green
card, or permanent resident status, if they marry a U.S. citizen.
"They
banked on the fact that we were so overburdened that we were not scrutinizing
applicants. But now we're placing more emphasis on these investigations," he
said.
Agents are aided by new software called the Fraud Detection and
National Security program, which identifies individuals who petition for
multiple spouses or children from foreign countries.
The current
investigation began after immigration officers noticed the same U.S. citizens
listed as petitioners for several spouses from China.
Johnston said the
petitioners were recruited by facilitators who trolled Southern California
casinos and card clubs looking for men and women who lost large sums of money or
appeared to be in need of quick cash. The amount paid to petitioners varied, but
Johnston said they could earn as much as $50,000.
ICE officials said
facilitators charged as much as $60,000 to arrange phony marriages for foreign
nationals with U.S. citizens. None of the 10 suspects charged this week were
facilitators. Johnston said he expects more indictments and
arrests.
Investigators believe the facilitators worked as a ring,
Johnston said. The group used a number of measures to make the marriages look
real, including fake wedding photos, love letters and phony tax
returns.
Four suspects are from Little Saigon and the others are from the
San Gabriel Valley. Eight are of Vietnamese descent, one is a Chinese American
and one is Indonesian. Two of the 10 are women.
Those indicted are My
Phuong Vu Nguyen, 25; Sony Nguyen, 57; Buu Van Tu, 42; and Harrison Le, 58, of
Little Saigon; and Mau Ly, 60; Hugh Ly, 55; Luther Tedja, 46; Raymond Trieu, 48;
Luong Khoa Ly, 55; and Bao Kun Li, 48, of the San Gabriel
Valley.
Mark Yoshida, Staff Attorney
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
1145 Wilshire Blvd., 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017
tel 213/977-7500 ext 247 * fax 213/977-7595 * myos...@apalc.org