11 Charged in Alleged Decade-Long Marriage Fraud Scheme
Federal authorities unsealed an indictment against 11 individuals in an undecided criminal matter involving alleged sham marriages.
By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 13, 2026, 9:17 a.m. ETWritten Aug 20, 2026, 9:28 a.m. ET
On Aug. 12, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the unsealing of a two-count indictment charging 11 individuals with conspiring to orchestrate more than 1,000 sham marriages to fraudulently obtain immigration status for foreign nationals. The case is at the charging stage and remains open and undecided, with no trial or final judicial resolution.
According to the official indictment record, the 11 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. Ten of the defendants were arrested on the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, and were slated for initial arraignment in federal magistrate court. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Each defendant faces one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Official records allege that between 2016 and July 2026, the network arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals—primarily citizens of the People's Republic of China—and U.S. citizens, charging customers up to $100,000. "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," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald.
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