A Los Angeles man and his daughter have been charged with conspiring to commit visa fraud by running a sham wedding operation for Chinese immigrants wanting green cards

• Jason Shiao, 65, and daughter Lynn Leung, 43, who live in Los Angeles, were arrested Wednesday
• They were later charged with conspiring to commit visa fraud by arranging phony marriages between Chinese citizens and American spouses
• The ten-year operation netted the pair $3.5million, investigators said
• Chinese clients would pay up to $50,000 each for fake wedding photos and sham documents, according to police
• Americans - including homeless people - would be paid a reported $10,000 to pose with their 'bride' or 'groom'
• Shiao and Leung, who have duel Chinese and Australian citizenship, face up to five years in jail and being deported if they are found guilty 

A Los Angeles man and his daughter have been charged with conspiring to commit visa fraud by running a sham wedding operation for Chinese immigrants wanting green cards.

Jason Shiao, 65, and his daughter Lynn Leung, 43, allegedly charged up to $50,000 from clients who were hoping to obtain legal immigration status.

The pair reportedly netted $3.5million from the scam, in which they would stage fake weddings and honeymoons and provide their customers with fraudulent documentation, police said.

They would pay U.S. citizens desperate for money - including homeless people - up to $10,000 each to pose as faux grooms and brides, it is alleged. Sometimes they would also pay gay men to be grooms to straight woman, it is claimed. 

This 'sham' wedding photo was one of pictures investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement

It is alleged that Jason Shiao, 65, and his daughter Lynn Leung, 43, would arrange fake wedding photos, including the ones above, and documentation for Chinese people seeking official immigration status

Shiao and Leung were taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of processing more than 70 fraudulent immigration applications since 2006, according to The Los Angeles Times.

They were charged and released on bond during a federal court hearing in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon. 

If convicted, they face up to five years in prison each, the U.S. attorney's office said.

As green card holders themselves, they also face the prospect of deportation. Both are dual citizens of China and Australia, authorities said.  

The arrests followed a raid on an office building in Pasadena, which investigators say was the base of the alleged operation.

Shiao used the office to pose as an immigration attorney, investigators said. The rest of the building is occupied by legal and finance firms.  

Claude Arnold, who works in the investigative division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told The Times: 'They had this phony law firm and this actual office.

'Because of that professional face on their organization, they were able to charge more.' 

The arrests followed a raid on an office building in Pasadena (above), which investigators say was the base of the alleged operation

Polioce (pictured in Shiao's alleged office) said he used it to pose as an immigration attorney

Investigators seized numerous documents and electronic equipment during the raid, officials said

Authorities began investigating Shiao and Leung in September 2012 following an anonymous tip.

Investigators said they found dozens of fraudulent immigration applications filed between October 2006 and July 2015, the newspaper reported.

The two would allegedly use the office to orchestrate the weddings, complete with photoshoots of the ceremonies and honeymoons, and file documents.  

At least 23 U.S. citizens have since admitted to being a part of the scheme.

Investigators have named a third person, Shannon Mendoza, 48, as wanted in connection to the operation.

Wanted: Shannon Mendoza, 48, is accused of recruiting Americans for the scheme

They allege that Mendoza was tasked with finding the U.S. citizens to act as the fake brides and grooms, offering them a fee of $10,000 to pose up.

However many of the Americans interviewed by ICE investigators said they never received the cash they were promised.

Shiao and Leung would then decide which client would marry each citizen, and the two would meet.

They were instructed to memorize personal information about each other, from birthdays to other details. A wedding would then be staged, followed by a honeymoon, where the two would not stay in the same room as each other.

Shiao and Leung would then allegedly work on fraudulent marriage certificates, bank statements and leases.

The two would list addresses owned by them or other employees, so as to stay across all correspondence for the supposedly married couples. 

Sometimes the immigrants were successful and got green cards - other times they were denied.

ICE did not have a tally for how many couples prevailed, but about half of the 70 fraudulent petitions - most of which were for marriages — filed by the business were approved, said Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman.

In one instance, Shiao told a confidential informant who contacted the business known as Jason International Law Corp, that he would need to pay roughly $43,000 to get an arranged marriage and all the immigration paperwork completed, a homeland security investigator wrote in court filings.

The informant then asked what he should do once he obtained legal residency.

'Get a divorce! Over here at my place,' the investigator reported Shiao as saying before handing out a business card offering his services as an attorney.