Eleven people, including three New Yorkers and a Florida man, have been charged in an alleged scheme that paid U.S. Navy service members to enter sham marriages with Chinese nationals.

U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Gregory W. Kehoe announced on Feb. 4 that a three-count indictment against the group had been unsealed. Prosecutors allege that the scheme was designed to help Chinese nationals obtain green cards, granting them lawful permanent resident status.

The sham marriages allegedly took place throughout the United States, including Las Vegas; Jacksonville, Florida; Connecticut; and the Brooklyn borough of New York City, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said the defendants targeted U.S. citizens who were “members of the United States armed forces.”

To make the sham marriages appear legitimate before immigration authorities, the defendants staged photos of couples in “loving, committed relationships,” prosecutors said. U.S. citizens were paid upon marrying Chinese nationals, with additional payments after legal status was obtained and again after the divorce.

Among the 11 defendants, prosecutors said Anny Chen, 54, of New York, was the organizer of the scheme, according to a memorandum filed by prosecutors on Feb. 3.

Six defendants, all Chinese nationals, were allegedly Chen’s clients, each married to an American to “obtain legal permanent resident status,” the memorandum stated. The defendants are Xie Sha, 38; Wang Linlin, 38; Fan Tao, 26; Fang Xionghu, 41; Chen Jiawei, 29; and Cheok Kin Man, 32.

One of the defendants, Feng Hailing, 27, of New York, allegedly worked for Anny Chen as a translator, prosecutors said.

The remaining three defendants are Deng Yafeng, 23, of New York; Kiah Holly, 29, of Maryland; and Jaden Bullion, 24, of Florida. According to the memorandum, Holly was a former Navy service member, and Deng was an active-duty Navy service member.

Sham Marriages

Raymond Zumba, of the Staten Island borough of New York City, was among four former Navy service members who have pleaded guilty to charges related to the sham marriage scheme, prosecutors said. The other three are Brinio Urena, Morgan Chambers, and Jacinth Bailey.

Prosecutors detailed several alleged sham marriages in the indictment, including one in March 2024 in which Anny Chen and another conspirator allegedly recruited Zumba to enter a fraudulent marriage with Xie.

The following month, Zumba and Xie married and staged a celebration, during which photos were taken to support what prosecutors described as the marriage’s “purported legitimacy” for immigration applications.

Chen later paid Zumba $10,000 in cash for marrying Xie, and Zumba petitioned for immigration benefits on Xie’s behalf in May 2024, according to the indictment.

In July 2025, Zumba pleaded guilty to bribing a public official for unauthorized Pentagon identification cards. He was arrested after a sting operation in February 2025, when prosecutors said he had paid $3,500 for fraudulent IDs for Anny Chen and Cheok at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville’s personnel office.

Anny Chen, Feng, and Cheok were accused of taking part in the bribery scheme, which “supports the conspirators’ intent to obtain access to military facilities, putting national security at risk,” according to the memorandum.

In a message sent to Deng after visiting Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Anny Chen expressed excitement about a military dependent ID, saying that “I can go to any military base at any time with this card” while also getting free medical care and shopping on base, according to the memorandum.

Zumba later recruited Urena, who allegedly entered a sham marriage with Wang in exchange for payment in August 2024, according to the indictment, and Zumba and Urena later recruited Chambers.

In October 2024, Anny Chen allegedly paid Chambers $10,000 for marrying Chinese national Chen Jiawei, according to the indictment.

In September 2024, Deng allegedly contacted Anny Chen, saying he “had been referred to” her and asking whether anyone wanted to “get [a] green card,” the indictment said.

Deng married a Chinese national identified by prosecutors only as “Conspirator-C” in New York in November 2024, according to the indictment.

In January 2025, Cheok and Bullion were married in New York, and according to the indictment, Bullion received a cash payment.

Anny Chen has been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud, and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Feng and Cheok have been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Wang has been charged with marriage fraud conspiracy and marriage fraud.

Xie, Chen Jiawei, Deng, Fan, Fang, Holly, and Bullion have been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.

The Epoch Times contacted Bullion’s lawyer for comment but didn’t receive a response by publication time. Lawyers for the remaining 10 defendants could not be reached.