A man from Southern California was given a prison sentence of over three years for running a “birth tourism” operation. This scheme involved wealthy pregnant Chinese women who paid large sums of money to travel to the United States and give birth, enabling their babies to acquire American citizenship, as officials revealed on Monday.
Michael Wei Yueh Liu, aged 59 and residing in Rancho Cucamonga just outside Los Angeles, was sentenced by a federal judge after a trial that spanned four days, according to the Justice Department.
Liu, along with Jing Dong, aged 47 and also from Rancho Cucamonga, were found guilty of a single count of conspiracy and ten charges of international money laundering. Dong’s sentencing will take place at a later date.
Federal agents raided about 20 locations, related to a birth tourism scheme, in three Southern California counties, including this apartment complex in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise via AP)
“Generally, defendant USA HAPPY BABY’s customers’ visa applications would falsely state that the purpose of the trip to the United States was for tourism, the length of the stay was eight to 14 days, and the customers would be staying in Hawaii, New York, or Los Angeles, when in truth and in fact, those customers were coming to the United States to give birth, the length of their stays was 3 months, and they would be staying in Rancho Cucamonga, California, or Irvine, California,” court documents state.Â
The women were also advised to fly to certain ports of entry where it was believed they would come under less scrutiny from U.S. customs officials. Examples included flying to Hawaii before flying to Los Angeles.
The women were also told to wear loose-fitting clothing and to favor certain lines at customs that they perceived to be less strict, and on how to answer the customs officials’ questions.
Federal agents raided about 20 locations, related to a birth tourism scheme, in three Southern California counties, including this apartment complex in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise via AP)
To accommodate the women, Liu and Dong leased apartments in Orange and San Bernardino counties to the women under names of people who were not going to occupy the units, authorities said.Â
Over the course of the scheme, the pair made several million dollars, prosecutors said.Â
