US service members sold their marriages and military secrets to a Chinese crime ring for a quick cash payment

Federal authorities just announced a massive bust targeting a Chinese transnational criminal organization. They were paying off US service members to enter sham marriages and, incredibly, trying to secure unauthorized access to military installations. 

The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force in Jacksonville, Florida, recently revealed the details of this multijurisdictional enforcement operation focused entirely on sophisticated marriage fraud. According to Newsweek, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe unsealed a three-count indictment on February 4, charging 11 individuals for their roles in a scheme that ran from March 2024 to February 2025.

The criminal organization allegedly sought out and recruited United States citizens, specifically preferring armed forces members, to enter fake marriages with Chinese nationals. The ultimate goal was to enable these foreign spouses to obtain legal immigration benefits and, even more concerning, gain unauthorized access to our military bases. These sham marriages spanned multiple states, including Florida, New York, Connecticut, and Nevada.

Talk about marital benefits

To create the illusion of a legitimate relationship for immigration officials, the conspirators staged photographs of the fake couples and fabricated evidence to make it look like they had a loving, committed partnership. In reality, the participating US citizens had agreed to a calculated three-part payment structure. First, an upfront cash payment just for entering the marriage. Second: once their foreign spouse secured legal immigration status. Finally, after the divorce. 

Among the 11 individuals charged with marriage fraud conspiracy are Anny Chen, 54, of New York, and Sha Xie, 38, of China. Anny Chen and Linlin Wang even face an additional marriage fraud charge related to a separate sham marriage that happened in Jacksonville in August 2024.

While the marriage fraud itself is serious, the national security implications are truly terrifying. The indictment alleges that Anny Chen, Hailing Feng, and Kin Man Cheok took the scheme to the next level by conspiring to bribe a public official. Their goal was to obtain unauthorized Department of Defense identification cards for access to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. 

Unlike other instances where military secrets have been accidentally exposed, the uncovering of this scheme was a result of careful investigation into Navy reservist Raymond Zumba. He was captured through an HSI operation after a report that Zumba attempted to bribe workers at the personnel office in NAS Jacksonville. It was by following him that this scheme was uncovered

Federal authorities have already arrested five suspects, thanks to the combined efforts of HSI Jacksonville, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Southeast, and other agencies. Two additional targets are scheduled to surrender themselves, but the authorities are still actively searching for the remaining four individuals. 

Thankfully, HSI was able to arrest this crime before something horrible happened.