ICE: 4 Chinese Nationals Face Deportation Following $1.2 Million Identity Theft Scheme

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing in Silver Spring, Md., on Jan. 27, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

A group of Chinese nationals who have been sentenced in a $1.2 million identity theft scheme face deportation after prison, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday.

“After they’ve served their time for fraud, we’ll take them back into ICE custody to face removal proceedings,” ICE said in an update on social media platform X.

According to the agency, the Chinese nationals entered the United States on false pretenses.

Their case follows a multi-agency investigation led by ICE agents in Los Angeles.

All four defendants pleaded not guilty on Jan. 6 and were sentenced to prison on March 17 for their involvement in a complex identity scheme that defrauded various national retailers of more than a million dollars. Those stores include popular beauty shops Sephora and Ulta, as well as high-end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.

According to federal prosecutors, they stole personal information from hundreds of victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and home addresses. They used that stolen information to create fake driver’s licenses to access credit in the victims’ names.

The defendants were handed down prison sentences ranging between 12 and 42 months. They have been identified as Kar Kee “Steven” Cheung, 36, of Chino Hills; Qian Guo, 37, of Chino Hills; Chongming “Ming” Wang, 28, of Temple City; and Jiaozhu “Yanny” Yan, 30, of Alhambra.

A fifth co-conspirator was previously sentenced to more than four years in prison, and a sixth defendant is awaiting sentencing following a guilty plea, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The investigation into the case remains ongoing, and ICE says it’s prepared to initiate their removal proceedings once they have served their time.

China has so far cooperated in the deportation of its nationals from the United States following a nearly two-year pause.

In August 2022, China suspended its cooperation with the United States on the deportation of Chinese nationals who were in the country illegally, which led to a major surge in the number of Chinese illegal immigrants entering the country via Mexico.

In May 2024, China began cooperating with the United States once again and agreed to accept deportees.

The United States has sent five charter flights to China carrying hundreds of Chinese illegal immigrants in the past eight months.

“DHS will continue to work with the [People’s Republic of China] in the coming months to combat human smuggling and deter irregular migration through coordinated efforts,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a January statement.

Homeland Security said the number of illegal border crossers from China decreased from 2,160 in June 2024 when the flights restarted to 820 in December 2024.

From NTD News