Chinese Nationals Paid to Marry US Navy Personnel - And Get Base Access

CAC — U.S. military Common Access Cards (DOD file image)

Four U.S. Navy sailors have pleaded guilty to charges of bribery for taking money from Chinese nationals for sham marriage arrangements. These fake marriages were set up so that the perpetrators could secure U.S. permanent residency and evade American immigration enforcement. In addition, some of the co-defendants in the scheme made attempts to secure military ID cards that would allow them access to U.S. military bases.

The Justice Department charged 11 civilians with marriage fraud conspiracy. Four former Navy servicemembers - Raymond Zumba, Brinio Urena, Morgan Chambers, and Jacinth Bailey - were charged with related offenses. All four have pleaded guilty, the DOJ said.

The DOJ alleged that the 11 people set up fake marriages for Chinese nationals in order to get permanent residency status for them. The scheme included detailed efforts to present the marriages as real, including photos of the "couples" intended to give the impression that they were in real relationships.

These relationships did not exist; instead, U.S. citizens - particularly U.S. servicemembers - were recruited for these arrangements, and offered substantial cash payments in exchange, plus travel expenses. The payouts happened in three steps: the first for marriage, the second for successfully securing residency status, and the third for completing the transaction through divorce. In the case of Brinio Urena, the suspects offered $10,000 in advance, $20,000 after issuance of a green card, and $5,000 after a divorce - $35,000 in total. Urena confirmed in a guilty plea that he agreed to this arrangement.

After Urena's "wedding," per a separate indictment, co-conspirator Raymond Zumba asked Urena to help secure an ID card for a Chinese national to facilitate the "immigration process." He also asked Urena for help in finding more Navy personnel to join in the scheme, and together they co-recruited at least one additional U.S. Navy servicemember.

The Justice Department collected evidence through the use of confidential sources, who were approached by the co-conspirators behind the scheme and were offered similar sham marriage payments at the same going rate.

Another servicemember implicated in the case, Jacinth Bailey, was promised a higher rate of $45,000 to marry a male Chinese national for immigration purposes, followed by divorce. She agreed, and traveled to Connecticut for the purpose of the marriage ceremony; the first time she met the future "husband"was on the day of the wedding, and she received $10,000 in cash later in the day.

On the same day, a co-conspirator - through an interpreter - asked Bailey to apply for and obtain a military ID card that would allow for base access. Consistent with Urena's case, the request for a military ID was presented to Bailey late in the process, after an agreement had been arranged and the marriage was in motion or completed.

Fake IDs

Zumba took the military-ID component of the case all the way through the process of application, and came close to producing the desired result for the Chinese co-conspirators. According to an FBI agent who investigated the case, Zumba attempted to recruit a confidential government source for securing Common Access Cards (CAC cards) for his "in-laws." The source had served with Zumba aboard a U.S. Navy warship, and the source's spouse worked in the card-issuance office at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The source recorded parts of the conversation with Zumba, who offered a payment of $1,500 per card for his "wife's parents." He said that they were from China, and upped the offer to $2,000 per card.

In a later phone conversation, Zumba confirmed that at least one card would need to be enabled for base access so that the "parents" could go shopping on base; he acknowleged that there might be the possibility of buying more cards for other people if the deal worked out. CS-1 raised the price for the base-access card to $2,500 because of the added risk, and struck a "deal" - with the FBI's knowledge. On the same call, Zumba also disclosed his sham marriage details, including the payment he had received.

On February 13, 2025, Zumba and the two Chinese "parents" met with two FBI confidential sources in the base ID card office after hours. The FBI had rigged the office for recording, and in the meeting, the Chinese nationals confirmed that they wanted "military service ID cards." They gave fingerprints, took photos, and arranged to meet the next day to transfer the cards.

When they met at a nearby restaurant on the 14th, Homeland Security Investigation agents were waiting, and after the exchange they arrested Zumba and two other individuals. Zumba admitted in an interview that he had sought to obtain cards, though he claimed that they were "dead" cards without base access. He was charged, and he ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a public official.