A woman living in Nevada has been arrested by U.S. judicial authorities on suspicion of years of visa fraud and money laundering, as well as illegally bringing Chinese nationals into the United States for financial gain.
Haiyan Liao, 43, who lives in Las Vegas, was charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, unlawfully bringing foreign nationals into the United States for financial gain, bringing foreign nationals into the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday (Jan. 13).
“As described in the indictment, Liao aided and abetted aliens who paid thousands of dollars for her fraudulent immigration services,” said Seth D. DuCharme, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a statement. “This defendant provided false documents and taught her associates how to lie during visa interviews and customs inspections.”
David P. Burns, acting assistant attorney general for criminal matters at the U.S. Department of Justice, said the United States benefits from the rich diversity of cultures and experiences that legal immigration brings, but the indictment emphasizes that “those who seek to disrupt our legal immigration system so they can enrich themselves will be prosecuted. “
According to the indictment, Haiyan Liao, along with others, helped Chinese individuals obtain visitor visas to enter the United States by submitting visa applications containing false statements to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. The false documents, which included forged birth certificates, identification cards, property certificates and employment certificates, were designed to make it appear more likely that her clients would return to China upon arrival in the United States, thereby increasing their chances of obtaining U.S. visas.
For those clients who were granted visas, Liao facilitated their travel to the United States, including accompanying them on commercial flights to New York City’s Queens and Brooklyn boroughs and instructing them “on how to get through customs. Liao’s co-defendant, Ned Michael Moriearty, recently died, the Justice Department said.
If convicted, Liao faces up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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