Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) – A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courthouse on Tuesday to visa fraud and money laundering charges for her role in a multi-year scheme to illegally bring Chinese nationals into the United States for financial gain.
According to court documents, Haiyan Liao, a naturalized U.S. citizen and native of China, engaged in a scheme with others to assist noncitizens from China to illegally enter the United States.
Prosecutors say Liao fraudulently obtained visitor visas for those noncitizens by submitting applications containing false statements to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. For the noncitizens whose applications were approved – including four minors – Liao facilitated their travel to the United States, including accompanying them on commercial flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The noncitizens and their families paid thousands of dollars to get to the United States. As a result of this scheme, Liao reaped at least $98,673.72 in illicit proceeds through wire transmissions from China to the United States.
Liao was originally charged back in 2021. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8th.