Eleven people have been indicted in Jacksonville, Florida, on charges related to marriage fraud and bribery. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced that a three-count indictment was unsealed, detailing alleged conspiracies involving sham marriages and attempts to bribe a public official.
The indictment names Anny Chen (New York), Sha Xie (China), Linlin Wang (China), Jiawei Chen (China), Yafeng Deng (New York), Hailing Feng (New York), Kiah Holly (Maryland), Xionghu Fang (China), Tao Fan (China), Jaden Bullion (Florida), and Kin Man Cheok (China). Each faces up to five years in prison if convicted of the charged offenses.
According to the indictment, the accused conspired from March 2024 through February 2025 to recruit U.S. citizens—preferably members of the armed forces—to enter into fraudulent marriages with Chinese nationals. The purpose was allegedly to evade immigration laws and secure lawful permanent resident status for the Chinese spouses. These marriages took place in several states including Florida, New York, Connecticut, and Nevada.
To support their scheme, those involved are alleged to have staged photographs intended to convince immigration authorities that the marriages were genuine. The payment plan reportedly included an upfront cash payment for marrying a Chinese national, another when legal status was granted, and a final sum after divorce.
Anny Chen and Linlin Wang face additional charges for a sham marriage conducted in Jacksonville in August 2024.
Four former Navy servicemembers—Raymond Zumba, Brinio Urena, Morgan Chambers, and Jacinth Bailey—have already pleaded guilty in related cases connected to this scheme. Their sentencing hearings are pending.
The indictment further alleges that Anny Chen, Hailing Feng, and Kin Man Cheok conspired between November 2024 and February 14, 2025 to bribe a public official at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. In January 2025, a confidential source told law enforcement that Raymond Zumba had offered money for unauthorized Department of Defense identification cards through an employee at NAS Jacksonville’s personnel office. Acting under federal direction, the source participated in communications about obtaining ID cards for cash payments.
On February 13, 2025, Zumba traveled from New York with Anny Chen, Feng, and Cheok to Jacksonville. They went to NAS Jacksonville after hours where attempts were made for Anny Chen and Cheok to receive unauthorized ID cards. The next day Zumba exchanged $3,500 for two ID cards but was immediately arrested by authorities who recovered the documents.
“An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law,” according to prosecutors. “Every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.”
Homeland Security Investigations led the inquiry along with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and FBI. Assistant United States Attorneys David Mesrobian and Michael J. Coolican will prosecute the case.
