A Pasadena woman was sentenced Monday to six months behind bars for her role in an immigration fraud scheme run by her father, in which Chinese nationals paid tens of thousands of dollars to be “married” to U.S. citizens.
Lynn Leung, 44, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer to pay a $4,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release after she gets out of prison.
Leung pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit visa and marriage fraud. Her 67-year-old father, Jason Shiao, of Santa Fe Springs, pleaded guilty in January to the same charge and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24 in Los Angeles federal court.
Prosecutors said Chinese nationals paid the defendants up to $50,000 to enter into sham marriages in the hopes of obtaining lawful permanent resident cards — often referred to as “green cards” — that would allow them to legally live in the United States.
Shiao, who posed as an attorney, and his daughter lined up U.S. citizen “spouses” for their clients and coached the couples on how to make the marriages appear genuine when questioned by immigration authorities.
They also prepared and filed immigration petitions and created fraudulent paper trails for the “couples,” including phony apartment leases, wedding photos and bank statements, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
—City News Service