US authorities arrested and charged 11 people for operating a large sham marriage fraud ring based mainly in New York, which helped more than 1,000 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese citizens, obtain US green cards through fake marriages over about 10 years [1, 2, 3, 4]. The group arranged these sham marriages by recruiting American citizens—some paid up to $30,000—to marry foreign clients who paid as much as $100,000 for the service [1, 2, 4].
Core members, mostly Chinese Americans including Amy Cheng, served as intermediaries matching Americans with foreign nationals, handling the entire sham marriage and immigration petition process. Their services included staged weddings, family photo shoots, joint bank accounts, joint tax filings, insurance purchases, and training for immigration interviews [2, 3, 5, 6]. Sham wedding ceremonies often occurred on the same day as the first meeting and marriage registration, sometimes held across multiple US states, or even overseas in China or Vanuatu [5, 7]. At least 14 recruited US citizens were active-duty Army soldiers stationed in Kentucky [2, 3, 6].
The ring operated for about a decade, generating estimated revenues of tens of millions of dollars [1, 2, 3]. The 11 defendants face charges including conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, immigration fraud, and conspiracy to encourage unlawful presence, with potential prison terms of up to 5 to 10 years [2, 3, 4]. US Attorney General Todd Blanche called it "one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history" and said, "We are preventing immigration fraud schemes that are just another way to skirt the immigration laws of the United States" [8]. He added, "This scheme was not a quick fly-by-night operation, but rather a years-long, multi-million-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not or legally could not otherwise become citizens of the United States" [1].
The ring provided comprehensive services including matchmaking, wedding arrangements, legal paperwork, building false evidence of genuine marriage, training for immigration interviews, and facilitating divorces after permanent residency was approved [5, 9]. Experienced immigration lawyers noted that such well-packaged fake marriages are hard to detect through documents alone; face-to-face interviews remain a key safeguard. Lawyer Liu Rihua stated, "The scale and duration of this sham marriage fraud are unprecedented in my 20 to 30 years of practice" [9].
Among the defendants, 10 were naturalized US citizens originally from China, and one was a green card holder [8]. The fake weddings included full ceremonies with officiants, photographers, guests, and marriage license registrations to create a facade of legitimacy [1, 4]. The ring also collaborated with non-lawyer facilitators, tax preparers, and wedding service providers to support their operations [2, 3, 6].
The arrests were made on August 12, 2026, followed by a public announcement and press conference in Washington, DC [2, 4, 8]. Amy Cheng has been engaged in these operations since at least August 2016, making her the longest-serving core member in the ring [2, 6, 10]. The case remains under investigation as authorities continue efforts to dismantle the network.
