Reported Migration Fraud: Chinese Men Marry U.S. Navy Servicewomen

Two Chinese men were reportedly involved in a fake marriage scheme in which they married two U.S. Navy servicewomen to obtain green cards, according to a report from the New York Times.

The outlet reported that Morgan Chambers and Jacinth Bailey were “charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.”

According to a court filing, Chambers revealed that she had been “recruited in September 2024 to enter a sham marriage. Under this scheme, Chambers was allegedly “offered $35,000, including $10,00 in upfront cash,” along with $20,000 once the Chinese man got a green card. Chambers would also be paid once the divorce was final. Bailey was also “recruited around the same time” for a fake marriage:

Ms. Chambers and Ms. Bailey are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. Neither has appeared before a judge nor entered a plea. It was not immediately clear which Navy base they belonged to or what titles they held.

They both waived their right to be formally indicted, a move sometimes used to expedite the legal process and obtain a more favorable plea. Lawyers for Ms. Chambers and Ms. Bailey declined to comment on the case on Friday.

The court filing for Ms. Chambers said she was recruited in September 2024 to enter a sham marriage. She was offered $35,000, including $10,000 in upfront cash, another $20,000 when the Chinese national whom she married obtained a green card and then $5,000 when the couple’s divorce was settled. Ms. Bailey was recruited around the same time to enter a sham marriage for a payment of $45,000 in total, the court filing said.

This is not the first time U.S. Navy personnel have been arrested and charged for their roles in fake marriage schemes, according to the outlet.

In February 2025, Raymond Zumba, who worked as a “Navy reservist,” was arrested “on suspicion of bribing a public official to get military identification cards that could allow Chinese immigrants onto a military base.” Zumba was also “accused of recruiting Americans” to participate in fake marriage schemes, according to the outlet.

Another man, Brinio Urena, who previously worked as a U.S. Navy recruiter, was charged in August 2025 for “entering a sham marriage and recruiting a service member” to also get involved in the fake marriage scheme. Urena went on to plead guilty, according to the outlet.

Stars and Stripes reported that Bailey serves as an “aviation boatswain’s mate assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower,” while Chambers works as a “personnel specialist assigned to the Navy Talent Acquisition Group in Jacksonville.”