A man from Rancho Cucamonga has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for his involvement in a "birth tourism" scheme. Michael Wei Yueh Liu, aged 59, was found guilty of helping Chinese clients give birth in the United States to secure U.S. citizenship for their children. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner.
Liu and Jing Dong, aged 47, were convicted on September 13 after a four-day trial. They were charged with one count of conspiracy and ten counts of international money laundering. Dong's sentencing is expected soon.
The scheme operated from January 2012 to March 2015, during which Liu and Dong managed a maternity house in Rancho Cucamonga. They rented apartments in Southern California to provide short-term housing for pregnant women traveling from China to give birth in the U.S., ensuring their children would receive citizenship. After giving birth, the women typically returned to China within one or two months.
Liu and Dong offered various services including visa assistance, customs entry guidance, housing, transportation within the U.S., and help with applying for legal documents for the newborns. They also instructed clients on how to conceal pregnancies from immigration authorities and facilitated misleading information on visa applications regarding travel purpose and duration.
Their clients' visa applications often falsely claimed tourism as the trip's purpose when it was actually childbirth-related; they also misstated intended stay locations as being elsewhere instead of at the defendants’ maternity hotel.
To avoid detection by customs officials, Liu and Dong advised clients on travel routes perceived as less scrutinized such as entering through Hawaii before proceeding to Los Angeles. Clients were also coached on wearing loose clothing and choosing certain lines at customs believed to be more lenient.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, FBI, Irvine Police Department, and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory W. Staples and Kevin Y. Fu from the Orange County Office.