Owners Of South Bay Business Convicted of Visa Fraud Conspiracy and Related Crimes

SAN JOSE – A federal jury convicted Jennifer Yang and her business partner Daniel Wu of conspiracy to defraud the United States and a number of related crimes in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain immigration benefits through the government’s “EB-5” visa program, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson; U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, San Francisco Field Office Special Agent in Charge Matthew Perlman; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. The verdict was handed down today following a five-week trial before the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Judge.

The jury found that Yang, 52, of Palo Alto, and Wu, 56, of Las Vegas, submitted to the government fraudulent documents that claimed applicants were creating new commercial enterprises when, in fact, the documents contained information about fake jobs and bogus investments.

“The EB-5 program allows qualified foreign investors to become earnest stakeholders in local U.S. economies,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson. “In this case, the defendants subverted the EB-5 program by submitting fraudulent documents to make it falsely appear that investments were made and jobs were created. Schemes like this are cynical, sad, and economically destructive.”

“The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is pleased with this successful prosecution. These hard-fought convictions send a clear message that criminals who attempt to exploit the U.S. visa process for illegal profit will be punished,” said SAC Matthew Perlman of the DSS San Francisco Field Office. “DSS, alongside our federal partners, is committed to rooting-out and prosecuting criminal enterprises involving U.S. travel documents.”

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