Queens Man Sentenced for Bribery

United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Northern District of New York; United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York; Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, Homeland Security Investigations; Assistant Director in Charge Janice Fedarcyk, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico, New York State Police announced that YANG CHIA TIEN a/k/a ANDREW TIEN, age 59, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to imprisonment for a total of 69 months, in connection with TIEN’s previous guilty pleas to three counts of bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 201(b)(1)(A) and 2, and one count of forgery of a passport, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1543 and 2. His sentence also included a period of supervised release, forfeiture and payment of restitution. TIEN was sentenced in Federal District Court in Albany, New York by District Judge Gary L. Sharpe.

As part of his bribery guilty pleas, YANG CHIA TIEN, a/k/a ANDREW TIEN, admitted that, from May 2008 through October 2008, as charged in the indictment, he corruptly gave bribe payments in U.S. currency to an undercover agent acting as an employee of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a public official, with the intent to influence an official act, that is to obtain Permanent Resident Alien cards (green cards), for aliens not entitled to such status. Specifically, TIEN paid, or caused others to pay, more than $77,000 in bribe money fore the purpose of unlawfully obtaining green cards on behalf of approximately six clients. TIEN received approximately $6,400 in commissions or fees for this service.

As part of his forgery of a passport guilty plea, YANG CHIA TIEN, a/k/a ANDREW TIEN, admitted that, from November 2009 through March 2010, as charged in the indictment, he accepted $5,000 in “buy money” from an undercover agent, and, in turn, provided the undercover agent with a counterfeit Chinese passport.

The charges against TIEN follow an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; the New York State Police, Special Investigations Unit; the Albany Police Department; and the Albany County Sheriff. The bribery charges were prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. The forgery of a passport charge was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and was resolved in the Northern District of New York.