A former Atherton resident has been extradited from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia after allegedly setting up a fraudulent “groen card” visa scheme for wealthy foreign investors, prosecutors said.
Danhong “Jean” Chen, 60, and her ex-husband, Jianyun “Tony” Ye, 67, worked together at Chen’s San Jose law office to allegedly falsify and submit fraudulent documents so immigrants could get permanent residency, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chen and Ye are accused of falsifying documents under the EB-S program, which grants immigrants “green card status” if they invest a minimum of $1 million into businesses in the United States.
Chen and Ye bought a “regional center,” which is a way for immigrants to find businesses to invest in, and quickly put the center under someone else’s name, according to an indictment handed down in 2019.
Some 105 people invested $52.5 million into the investment center that was owned by Chen and Ye, the indictment states.
Ye pleaded guilty in 2021 to visa fraud and obstruction and was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison. He has since served that sentence and been released from jail, prosecutors said.
Chen has been on the run. She became a naturalized citizen of the small Caribbean island of Dominica in October 2018, around the same time the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against her.
Authorities in Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, arrested Chen at the request of the United States, prosecutors said. Kyrgyzstan is widely seen as a puppet of neighboring China.
Chen appeared before Judge Susan van Keulen in federal district court in San Jose on Friday.
This is the first extradition from the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States on federal criminal charges, prosecutors said.
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