U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada | U.S. Department of Justice
A man from Rancho Cucamonga has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for his role in a "birth tourism" scheme. Michael Wei Yueh Liu, aged 59, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner after being found guilty of conspiracy and international money laundering.
Liu, along with Jing Dong, aged 47, operated a maternity house in Rancho Cucamonga from January 2012 to March 2015. They provided services to Chinese clients who wanted their children to be born in the United States and obtain U.S. citizenship. These services included housing, transportation, visa assistance, and guidance on dealing with immigration authorities.
The jury's verdict came after a four-day trial concluded on September 13. Dong is expected to receive her sentence soon.
The operation involved renting apartments in Southern California as short-term accommodations for pregnant women traveling from China. After giving birth, the women typically returned home within one or two months.
Liu and Dong were aware that their clients often lied on visa applications about the purpose and duration of their stay in the U.S., falsely claiming it was for tourism when it was actually for childbirth.
They advised clients on how to avoid detection by immigration authorities by suggesting routes with less scrutiny and advising them on how to dress and behave at customs checkpoints.
The investigation into this scheme was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the FBI. The Irvine Police Department and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department also contributed significantly.
Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory W. Staples and Kevin Y. Fu prosecuted the case out of the Orange County Office.
