Former FBI Agent Trainee Sentenced

Norfolk, Virginia—Yue Cheng, age 26, of Williamsburg, Virginia, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment by the Honorable District Court Judge Henry Coke Morgan. Cheng pled guilty on December 4, 2008, to a criminal information charging 8 U.S.C. Section 1325, Marriage Fraud, 2)  False Claims, Title 18 U.S.C. Section 287; and 3) Procurement of Citizenship or Naturalization Unlawfully, Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1425 and 2. Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. Section 1451(e), Cheng’s final order admitting her to United States Citizenship was revoked and her certificate of naturalization was cancelled. Cheng was additionally ordered to pay $24,860 in restitution to the United States Navy.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court records, Cheng applied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Norfolk Virginia to become a special agent in March 2007. While in special agent training at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, on March 3, 2008, she admitted to entering into a fraudulent marriage for the purpose of obtaining United States citizenship. In 2001 at the age of 19 she married, in Las Vegas, a 57-year-old resident of California for the sole purpose of obtaining citizenship. According to court records, Cheng later enlisted in the United States Navy and while in the U.S. Navy here in Norfolk, due to the fraudulent marriage, she collected in excess of $24,000 in Base Allowance for Housing (BAH) allowance. As part of the application process to become a United States citizen, Cheng is charged with making false statements to the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident status. Cheng made false statements to the FBI for the purpose of obtaining a position as a special agent. 

This case was investigated by the Norfolk Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Norfolk Field Office; and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Norfolk Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph DePadilla prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.