A federal jury on Friday found two San Bernardino County residents guilty of running a years-long birth tourism operation in Southern California, allowing Chinese women to enter the United States for the specific purpose of giving birth to children in order to obtain 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 their clients on how to obtain visas, clear customs and hide their pregnancies from immigration officials, the U.S. 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 to two months after giving birth and that Liu and Dong “knew, or deliberately avoided learning, that their clients were lying on their visa applications submitted to immigration authorities to enter the U.S.”
Among the alleged false statements made by pregnant Chinese nationals was that their trip was for tourism and would only last a few days or weeks.
The sentencing hearing for Liu and Dong is scheduled for Dec. 9. They could face two decades behind bars.
