SAN JOSE, Calif.—An immigration lawyer who was extradited from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia made her first appearance in federal district court in San Jose on March 7.
Danhong “Jean” Chen, 60, talked with federal public defense attorneys outside the courtroom for about half an hour before an officer pushed her in a wheelchair into the courtroom.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against her on Oct. 18, 2018. One day later, Chen fled the United States. At one time authorities believed she lived in China, according to a 2022 complaint by SEC.
Chen and her ex-husband Jianyun “Tony” Ye were indicted in March 2019 by a federal grand jury for alleged visa fraud, according to a Department of Justice press release. The alleged fraud was related to obtaining benefits for more than 100 foreign investors through the employment-based immigration fifth preference visa program known as EB-5.
The EB-5 program, established by Congress in 1990, allows foreign nationals to obtain permanent U.S. residency status, commonly known as a green card, after two years of investing in businesses and creating jobs with them in the United States. At the time of Chen’s indictment, the minimum required investment ranged from $500,000 to $1 million, depending on the employment rate of the location.
“Chen prepared and submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fraudulent documents that contained false signatures and falsely described how applicants would qualify for the EB-5 program,” the press release states.
Clients represented by the Law Offices of Jean D. Chen, which opened in 2007 in California and was operated by Chen, invested a total of approximately $52 million under the EB-5 program, prosecutors stated.
Chen was also accused of “falsifying documents to hide the true ownership and nature of a regional center.” The press release states that Chen purchased the Golden State Regional Center, an approved EB-5 regional center, and other entities, and transferred ownership to another name immediately after the purchases.
Chen and Ye “facilitated their legal clients’ investments in the center without disclosing to those clients or any other investors that they managed and controlled it or were involved in the development of certain of its projects,” according to the 2022 SEC complaint.
Chen and Ye have also been accused of demanding that the straw owner of the Golden State Regional Center lie to SEC investigators, and directing an individual to delete emails relevant to the investigation.
Chen was charged with 10 counts of visa fraud, two counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Chen, a former Atherton resident, became a naturalized citizen of Dominica, possibly under the name Maria Sofia Taylor, in October 2018, according to another DOJ press release.
She is the first person extradited from Kyrgyzstan on federal criminal charges since the United States established diplomatic relations with it in 1991 following its independence from the Soviet Union, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California.
“The EB-5 program ... it was full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud, and it was a way to get a green card that was low price,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters in an announcement.
According to the EB-5 Data Dashboard, the U.S. government has issued green cards to 135,518 investors and their family members since the fiscal year 2000.
Judge Susan van Keulen decided to continue Chen’s trial on March 14.
