Peekskill, Ossining Residents Linked To Organized 'Marriage Scam,' According To Feds

HUDSON VALLEY, NY —Two Westchester women were among 11 defendants charged in connection to the dismantling of a long-running, nationwide marriage fraud scheme, according to the DOJ.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations Todd Blanche, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph B. Edlow, and Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced the unsealing of a two-count indictment charging Amy Cheng, a/k/a "Amy Zhou," Xiao Mei Chan, a/k/a "Carmen," Christine Lu, a/k/a "Lily," Jing Yan Ye, a/k/a "Serene," Xiao Yan Chen, a/k/a "Anna," Gang Zheng, a/k/a "Michael," a/k/a "Mike," Anthony Cheng, Michelle Duenas, Angela Duenas, Sigrid Cetino, and Erika Johnson, with conspiring to orchestrate more than 1,000 sham marriages to fraudulently obtain immigration status for foreign nationals, primarily citizens of the People's Republic of China. 10 of those defendants were arrested on Wednesday and arraigned in White Plains federal court.

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Cetino, 32, of Peekskill, and Johnson, 43, of Ossining, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration fraud, which carries up to five years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the U.S., which carries up to 10 years in prison.

"Those who deliberately arrange sham marriages to circumvent our nation's immigration laws are not only undermining the sanctity of this institution, but they are also committing a crime," DA Cacace said. "This complex investigation, which our office proudly helped uncover, was worked in partnership with HSI, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. This case demonstrates the power and importance of strong cooperation between all law enforcement agencies."

According to the indictment, from 2016 through July 2026, the group operated a nationwide and international marriage fraud network that arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals, primarily citizens of the People's Republic of China and United States citizens. Although based mainly in New York City, prosecutors allege the network arranged sham marriages throughout the U.S. and overseas, including in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Vanuatu and China.

The network included facilitators who oversaw the scheme and identified foreign-national customers; recruiters who found willing U.S. citizens and helped ensure their continued participation; and assistants who prepared immigration paperwork and coordinated the submission of fraudulent green card applications, feds contend.

"This Department of Justice is rooting out fraud everywhere—including in our immigration system," Blanche said. "The individuals who were arrested today allegedly orchestrated elaborate schemes to illegally obtain citizenship for foreign nationals through sham marriages."

The scheme also relied on marriage officiants, attorneys, tax preparers, insurance providers, and other service providers. Foreign nationals paid facilitators as much as $100,000 for a sham marriage and assistance obtaining lawful permanent resident status, according to the indictment. Facilitators, in turn, allegedly paid participating U.S. citizens as much as $30,000, usually in installments tied to milestones in the green card application process, and paid recruiters commissions of as much as $5,000 for each citizen recruited, according to the accusations. In total, the defendants and their co-conspirators recruited hundreds of U.S. citizens to enter into sham marriages, according to the DOJ.

"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," McDonald said. "Today's arrests have dismantled a central component of one of the largest marriage fraud schemes charged in United States history. As this prosecution shows, we and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those seeking to corrupt and exploit our nation's lawful immigration system."

The defendants paired foreign nationals with U.S. citizens, who often met for the first time immediately before obtaining a marriage license, arranging sham wedding ceremonies, and staging photographs designed to make those marriages appear legitimate, according to prosecutors.

After the ceremonies, scheme participants manufactured evidence to make the marriages appear genuine, including by staging additional photographs, opening joint financial and utility accounts, filing joint tax returns, and obtaining insurance policies, investigators said. The accused and their co-conspirators then prepared and submitted green card applications containing false statements and, when interviews with USCIS were required, coached the marriage participants on how to conceal the true nature of their relationships and provide false answers to immigration officers, according to the charges.

The defendants caused hundreds of fraudulent green card applications and supporting documents to be submitted, the DOJ said. Based on the scale and duration of the scheme, the network is believed by law enforcement to have collected tens of millions of dollars from foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent resident status.

McDonald thanked HSI, Hudson Valley; the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force; the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division; the Westchester County DA's Office; the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida; and Homeland Security Investigations, Jacksonville for their investigative work.

The case is being handled by the Office's White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jake Sidransky and Reyhan Watson are in charge of the prosecution.

"Anyone willing to lie, cheat or steal their way to legal immigration status is a direct threat to America's national security," said USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow. "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is aggressively pursuing marriage fraud schemes and the criminal organizations and ringleaders who profit from them. USCIS will continue to expose fraud, defend the rule of law, and ensure immigration status is reserved for those who truly qualify."