LOS ANGELES
A Santa Fe Springs man who posed as an attorney as part of an elaborate immigration fraud scheme in which at least 87 foreign nationals – mostly Chinese citizens – paid tens of thousands of dollars to be “married” to U.S. citizens was sentenced Monday two years in federal prison.
Jason Shiao, also known as “Zheng Yi Xiao,” 67, operated the Pasadena-based Jason International Law Corporation.
Shiao “assisted foreign nationals who were seeking to obtain lawful permanent resident status to remain in the United States by arranging fraudulent marriages for those foreign nationals to United States citizen spouses,” according to documents filed by prosecutors in relation to today’s sentencing.
Shiao was initially charged in this case in 2015. In January, he plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and marriage fraud.
As part of the scheme, Shiao falsely claimed to be an attorney, paid U.S. citizens thousands of dollars to participate in the scheme, introduced immigrants seeking benefits to American citizens to facilitate the sham marriages, instructed his clients to pose for wedding photographs, and told clients to lie to officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
According to court documents, Chinese nationals paid 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 reside in the United States.
Shiao’s daughter, Lynn Leung, 45, of Pasadena, also plead guilty to a conspiracy charge. Leung was sentenced last week to six months in prison.
A third defendant charged in the case – Shannon Mendoza, 50, of Pacoima – was transferred to Pennsylvania, where he is also being prosecuted for drug trafficking charges based on conduct allegedly committed while on pre-trial release in the immigration fraud case.
While Shiao and Leung served as brokers by arranging the sham marriages and filing immigration applications, Mendoza allegedly acted as a recruiter by finding U.S. citizens who were willing to enter into sham marriages in exchange for payments of up to $15,000, according to officials.
Court documents describe how the defendants went to considerable lengths to make the fake marriages appear real.
According to Shiao’s plea agreement, he and his daughter prepared documentation that was filed with the federal government to bolster the validity of the fraudulent marriages, including staged photographs of “wedding ceremonies” and bogus tax returns, life insurance policies, joint bank account information and apartment lease applications.
The investigation began in September 2012.