Irvine attorney in birth tourism
case arrested, accused of
accepting money to help material
witness get back to China
Related stories
An Irvine attorney representing Chinese parents designated as witnesses in a federal crackdown on the local birth tourism industry was arrested on charges of attempted witness tampering, government officials said Monday.
Ken Z. Liang, 38, was arrested by Homeland Security agents outside his Irvine office Friday afternoon and spent the weekend in an Orange County jail.
Liang is accused of accepting $6,000 from a material witness in exchange for helping her leave the country, despite court orders, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He declined to offer a written contract and asked for cash payments, officials alleged.
The witness was cooperating with federal officials, and the conversations were monitored and recorded.
The arrest came as Liang was walking with the witness toward his car, allegedly heading to a Starbucks in Corona where he was going to introduce her to others who would help her leave the country.
After he was taken into custody, officials said Liang led agents back to his office and returned the $6,000 he had accepted from the witness.
“Obviously, any time somebody interferes with a federal investigation particularly when a witness is under court order, it’s extremely serious,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Chenwei Yang said.
Liang appeared briefly Monday in the Federal Courthouse in Santa Ana, where Judge Douglas F. McCormick set his bond at $100,000, despite the prosecution’s protest.
The judge, however, agreed to a 48-hour hold on Liang’s release while federal prosecutors decide whether to appeal the decision. Liang, a fluent Mandarin speaker who has traveled extensively through China, poses a significant flight risk, Yang argued.
“No amount of supervision can assure he will not leave the county,” Yang told the judge.
Liang’s court-appointed defense attorney, Kenneth Reed, said Liang is a father of two small children and would never leave his family.
Reed said his client plans to plead not guilty at his arraignment set for June 22.
After his arrest Friday, Liang told investigators he was working to assist the witness with her immigration case and did not have connections to help her leave the country undetected, according to court documents.
“Liang stated that there was no way to help a person escape from the United States without detection. Nonetheless, Liang stated he wanted to ‘see if they can do anything for her,’” according to court documents.
MATERIAL WITNESSES
Federal agents swarmed apartment complexes and homes in Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties on March 3, interviewing pregnant Chinese women and seizing computers and documents. Federal officials said three Chinese companies have engaged in visa and tax fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office designated 29 Chinese nationals – pregnant women and their family members – as material witnesses in an investigation against three Chinese companies that provide vacation-style trips to families who want to have their babies born in the United States.
Company operators have not been charged.
Instead, one new mother who was designated as a material witness was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 15 as she was trying to leave the country with her newborn American son. Ying Wu remains under house arrest and wears a GPS monitoring device.
Another 10 witnesses, including four men, who left the country were issued arrest warrants on April 30. Federal officials accused them of obstruction of justice, contempt of court and making false statements on their visa applications.
LongJing Yi, an 11th Chinese national who temporarily lived in Orange County, is married to one of the material witnesses, Jun Xiao. Although she was not designated as a material witness, she was charged with visa fraud after she left the country with her husband and baby.
Liang represented Yi and Xiao. He also initially represented Wu, the new mom under house arrest, along with several other material witnesses.
HOW THE ARREST HAPPENED
One of those material witnesses, a former client identified as “D.L,” assisted in an investigation that led to Liang’s arrest, according to an affidavit by Scott McKim, special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
On May 7, D.L. called Liang to say she was concerned that her visa would soon be expiring. In subsequent conversations in Mandarin, which were recorded, Liang told her he could help her with her immigration case, according to McKim’s affidavit.
“D.L. expressed that she would rather leave,” McKim wrote.
They discussed the departure of Yi and Xiao. Liang said that “although he told them not to sneak out of the United States, he could not do anything, as it was not considered a criminal act.”
According to the affidavit, Liang said he wanted to meet in person. When they met, he said that returning to China was difficult and that their conversation “may cause him (Liang) to be in ‘big trouble.’”
On May 12, the two met at his office in a meeting that was captured by audio and video and live-audio feed. Liang told D.L. it might be easier to leave from San Francisco and as a political asylum applicant, according to the affidavit.
For an additional $1,500 to $3,000, “Liang said he could have D.L. board a plane, without any travel documents. Liang again stated he could help D.L.’s mother and her child, but again stated he would be in trouble for helping D.L.,” McKim wrote. The additional funds, or “hush money,” would go to others that would assist her, McKim wrote in the court document.
“Liang admonished D.L. to not tell anybody about this plan,” McKim wrote.
On Thursday, D.L. returned to Liang’s Irvine office to discuss the details. The meeting was recorded and audio monitored live by McKim. There were technical problems with the audio feed and she left the office, returning the next day.
On Friday, D.L. returned to Liang’s office, where he said he would take her to a Starbucks in Corona to meet others who could help. As they approached Liang’s car, around noon, special agents stopped and arrested him.
Following his arrest, Liang denied making any promises that he could get D.L. back to China by the end of next week, according to the affidavit.
DEFENDING HIS CLIENTS
During an April interview with the Register, Liang questioned the government’s focus on the women instead of the companies and expressed optimism that the charges against his clients who fled could be cleared.
Liang also defended his wealthy clients, saying no one had run out on their hospital bills, as government officials allege in court documents.
“You shouldn’t handle them as criminals,” Liang said during an earlier interview.
The families paid $50,000 and more for their stay in Southern California, which depending on the package they chose included trips to Disneyland, South Coast Plaza and, for some, a shooting range.
In the United States, anyone born here receives automatic birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. It is not illegal to come to the U.S. to give birth, but it is illegal to lie about one’s intentions on a visa application.
If convicted, Liang faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
Ken Z. Liang, 38, was arrested by Homeland Security agents outside his Irvine office Friday afternoon and spent the weekend in an Orange County jail.
Liang is accused of accepting $6,000 from a material witness in exchange for helping her leave the country, despite court orders, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He declined to offer a written contract and asked for cash payments, officials alleged.
The witness was cooperating with federal officials, and the conversations were monitored and recorded.
The arrest came as Liang was walking with the witness toward his car, allegedly heading to a Starbucks in Corona where he was going to introduce her to others who would help her leave the country.
After he was taken into custody, officials said Liang led agents back to his office and returned the $6,000 he had accepted from the witness.
“Obviously, any time somebody interferes with a federal investigation particularly when a witness is under court order, it’s extremely serious,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Chenwei Yang said.
Liang appeared briefly Monday in the Federal Courthouse in Santa Ana, where Judge Douglas F. McCormick set his bond at $100,000, despite the prosecution’s protest.
The judge, however, agreed to a 48-hour hold on Liang’s release while federal prosecutors decide whether to appeal the decision. Liang, a fluent Mandarin speaker who has traveled extensively through China, poses a significant flight risk, Yang argued.
“No amount of supervision can assure he will not leave the county,” Yang told the judge.
Liang’s court-appointed defense attorney, Kenneth Reed, said Liang is a father of two small children and would never leave his family.
Reed said his client plans to plead not guilty at his arraignment set for June 22.
After his arrest Friday, Liang told investigators he was working to assist the witness with her immigration case and did not have connections to help her leave the country undetected, according to court documents.
“Liang stated that there was no way to help a person escape from the United States without detection. Nonetheless, Liang stated he wanted to ‘see if they can do anything for her,’” according to court documents.
MATERIAL WITNESSES
Federal agents swarmed apartment complexes and homes in Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties on March 3, interviewing pregnant Chinese women and seizing computers and documents. Federal officials said three Chinese companies have engaged in visa and tax fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office designated 29 Chinese nationals – pregnant women and their family members – as material witnesses in an investigation against three Chinese companies that provide vacation-style trips to families who want to have their babies born in the United States.
Company operators have not been charged.
Instead, one new mother who was designated as a material witness was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 15 as she was trying to leave the country with her newborn American son. Ying Wu remains under house arrest and wears a GPS monitoring device.
Another 10 witnesses, including four men, who left the country were issued arrest warrants on April 30. Federal officials accused them of obstruction of justice, contempt of court and making false statements on their visa applications.
LongJing Yi, an 11th Chinese national who temporarily lived in Orange County, is married to one of the material witnesses, Jun Xiao. Although she was not designated as a material witness, she was charged with visa fraud after she left the country with her husband and baby.
Liang represented Yi and Xiao. He also initially represented Wu, the new mom under house arrest, along with several other material witnesses.
HOW THE ARREST HAPPENED
One of those material witnesses, a former client identified as “D.L,” assisted in an investigation that led to Liang’s arrest, according to an affidavit by Scott McKim, special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
On May 7, D.L. called Liang to say she was concerned that her visa would soon be expiring. In subsequent conversations in Mandarin, which were recorded, Liang told her he could help her with her immigration case, according to McKim’s affidavit.
“D.L. expressed that she would rather leave,” McKim wrote.
They discussed the departure of Yi and Xiao. Liang said that “although he told them not to sneak out of the United States, he could not do anything, as it was not considered a criminal act.”
According to the affidavit, Liang said he wanted to meet in person. When they met, he said that returning to China was difficult and that their conversation “may cause him (Liang) to be in ‘big trouble.’”
On May 12, the two met at his office in a meeting that was captured by audio and video and live-audio feed. Liang told D.L. it might be easier to leave from San Francisco and as a political asylum applicant, according to the affidavit.
For an additional $1,500 to $3,000, “Liang said he could have D.L. board a plane, without any travel documents. Liang again stated he could help D.L.’s mother and her child, but again stated he would be in trouble for helping D.L.,” McKim wrote. The additional funds, or “hush money,” would go to others that would assist her, McKim wrote in the court document.
“Liang admonished D.L. to not tell anybody about this plan,” McKim wrote.
On Thursday, D.L. returned to Liang’s Irvine office to discuss the details. The meeting was recorded and audio monitored live by McKim. There were technical problems with the audio feed and she left the office, returning the next day.
On Friday, D.L. returned to Liang’s office, where he said he would take her to a Starbucks in Corona to meet others who could help. As they approached Liang’s car, around noon, special agents stopped and arrested him.
Following his arrest, Liang denied making any promises that he could get D.L. back to China by the end of next week, according to the affidavit.
DEFENDING HIS CLIENTS
During an April interview with the Register, Liang questioned the government’s focus on the women instead of the companies and expressed optimism that the charges against his clients who fled could be cleared.
Liang also defended his wealthy clients, saying no one had run out on their hospital bills, as government officials allege in court documents.
“You shouldn’t handle them as criminals,” Liang said during an earlier interview.
The families paid $50,000 and more for their stay in Southern California, which depending on the package they chose included trips to Disneyland, South Coast Plaza and, for some, a shooting range.
In the United States, anyone born here receives automatic birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. It is not illegal to come to the U.S. to give birth, but it is illegal to lie about one’s intentions on a visa application.
If convicted, Liang faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
Related Links
- Birth tourism case hits new stage, with criminal complaints filed against Chinese citizens
- Woman in 'birth tourism' case arrested at LAX as she tries to fly back to China
- David Whiting: Is it time to change the 14th Amendment giving citizenship to those born here?
- Birth tourism: An Irvine company makes $2 million in 2013 enticing foreign women to give birth to hundreds of babies in O.C., feds say
- Prosecutors say 10 birth tourism witnesses flee to China, warrants issued
- Why do Chinese mothers look to Southern California, specifically Irvine, for birth tourism? It's more than just baby's U.S. citizenship
- No bail: Irvine attorney accused of helping a Chinese mother get back home held because of flight risk
- Irvine attorney in birth tourism case indicted by federal jury, could face 40 years in prison
- Birth tourism: Irvine attorney accused of helping Chinese mother try to flee the U.S. arraigned on obstruction of justice charges.
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