The US Department of Justice stated on Tuesday that two Chinese citizens were arrested for allegedly attempting to enter the United States using “purchased” American passports at Orange County Airport in California. The two individuals are currently in custody and facing federal criminal charges. Court documents indicate that there may have been an “intermediary” involved in arranging this scheme.
According to the Department of Justice announcement, the defendants, 44-year-old Jin Fu Wei from Guangxi, China, and 47-year-old Xiaodan Lei from Henan, China, are charged with passport misuse.
According to the sworn statements submitted with the charges, the two defendants arrived in the United States on August 26 by plane from Mexico at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, attempting to enter the country using American passports that actually belonged to “K.M.” and “J.Z.,” but were intercepted by customs officials.
It is worth noting that during the investigation, both individuals admitted that the American passports they used were purchased in Mexico with the intention of deceiving their way into the United States. However, their names did not appear on the flight passenger or boarding lists.
FBI agents provided more details in the sworn statements, including Wei’s admission of communicating with an “unknown individual” on WeChat, who arranged their travel to Mexico.
Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli stated, “This is not just a criminal case. When foreign nationals are able to enter the United States under false identities, it poses serious national security concerns. We have the right to know exactly who is crossing the US border and what their intentions are.”
According to the sworn statements, Wei and Lei flew from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico to John Wayne Airport in California on August 26. Upon arrival, they presented American passports belonging to “K.M.” and “J.Z.” to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
CBP officials discovered that Wei and Lei’s identities did not match the information on the American passports they presented. Facial recognition results also showed that their faces did not match those associated with “K.M.” and “J.Z.” on the passports.
Furthermore, the names of Wei and Lei did not appear on the flight passenger list. Only the names of “K.M.” and “J.Z.” were listed as passengers, and records showed that “K.M.” and “J.Z.” were the ones who actually boarded the flight.
Law enforcement subsequently detained the two individuals and found that Wei was carrying a Chinese credit card and a Chinese bank card, both issued in his name. Additionally, Wei had an expired Texas driver’s license under the name “K.M.”
The sworn statements revealed that Wei and Lei stated during the investigation that they did not know the owners of the two American passports they used.
During questioning with the assistance of translators, Wei mentioned that he had communicated with a “stranger” via WeChat, who arranged for them to travel to Mexico and obtain American passports on their behalf. While in Mexico, he and Lei purchased the American passports from an unidentified individual (“UNSUB 1”). Prior to this, they were not acquainted with each other.
Wei explained that he handed over his Chinese passport to “UNSUB 1.” The arrangement was for him and Lei to contact the “stranger” on WeChat upon entering the US, who would then arrange for them to meet another unidentified individual (“UNSUB 2”). After handing the American passports over to “UNSUB 2,” they would receive back their Chinese passports.
The criminal complaints are merely allegations at this stage. If convicted in the future, each defendant could face a maximum federal prison sentence of 10 years.