A federal jury on Friday found two San Bernardino County residents guilty of running a year-long birth tourism business in Southern California that allowed Chinese women to enter the United States for the specific purpose of giving birth in order to gain U.S. citizenship for their children.
Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong, both of Rancho Cucamonga, operated their scheme from at least 2012 to 2015, according to authorities.
For tens of thousands of dollars, Liu, 59, and Dong, 47, advised clients how to obtain visas, clear customs and hide their pregnancies from immigration officials, the US Justice Department said in a news release.
Once in the United States, the women were given temporary housing in Southern California and help applying for legal documents for their newborns, authorities said.
In a press release, the Justice Department said the women typically returned to China within one or two months of giving birth and that Liu and Dong “knew — or deliberately avoided learning — that their clients lied on their visa applications submitted to immigration authorities in order to enter the United States”
Among the alleged false statements made by pregnant Chinese nationals was that their trip was for tourism and would only take days or weeks.
A sentencing hearing for Liu and Dong is scheduled for December 9. They could face two decades behind bars on charges of conspiracy and international money laundering.