Ex-Navy Members Accused of Helping 'Chinese Criminals' Sneak Into Military Base Access Through Fake Marriages

Four former US Navy service members have pleaded guilty to entering sham marriages with Chinese nationals for cash, prosecutors said.

An additional 11 people face federal charges after a three-count indictment was unsealed on 4 February in Jacksonville, Florida.

The alleged scheme recruited sailors to marry Chinese nationals for up to $45,000 each, then tried to bribe base personnel for Department of Defence identification cards granting access to military installations.

US Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said the conspiracy deliberately targeted the armed forces. The indictment's own language was blunt: recruiters sought US citizens, 'preferably members of the United States armed forces'.

The operation ran from March 2024 through February 2025.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement classified the network as a Chinese transnational criminal organisation.

$10,000 at the Wedding, $20,000 at the Green Card

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jacinth Bailey, 25, an aviation boatswain's mate assigned to the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, was promised $45,000 to marry a Chinese national she had never met, court documents showed.

In January 2025, Bailey flew to New York. She had been coordinating with alleged conspirators on encrypted messaging platforms for weeks.

The following day, she drove with the group to a courthouse in Connecticut and married the man. The first time she saw him was at the ceremony.

Afterwards, the group travelled back to New York for a staged wedding party. Photographs of the 'couple' were taken to submit to immigration officials as evidence of a genuine relationship.

Bailey collected $10,000 in cash at the party, the court heard.

She was not the only sailor.

At the centre of the alleged ring was Anny Chen, 54, a naturalised US citizen from China living in New York. Prosecutors said Chen recruited Navy reservist Raymond Zumba to marry a Chinese national, Sha Xie, 38, at a ceremony in Brooklyn in April 2024.

Chen allegedly paid Zumba $10,000 on the day, CBS News reported.

The payment structure was the same across multiple marriages. Around $10,000 up front. Roughly $20,000 when the Chinese spouse secured a green card. Then, about $5,000 after the divorce. Average total: $35,000.

Zumba then became a recruiter himself, pulling other Navy personnel into the arrangement.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Morgan Chambers flew to Las Vegas in October 2024 for her own sham wedding. She was paid $10,000 in cash in a restaurant restroom afterwards, Stars and Stripes reported.

Courthouses, staged photos, cash in bathrooms. That was the routine.

The Bribery Plot at Naval Air Station Jacksonville

The alleged conspiracy went beyond green cards.

In January 2025, Zumba approached a confidential source whose spouse worked in the personnel office at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. He asked whether the spouse would issue Department of Defence Common Access Cards under the table for Chinese nationals.

These cards grant holders entry to military installations, commissaries and exchanges across the US and overseas.

Zumba initially offered $1,500 per card. He later raised the price to $3,500, according to court documents.

The source reported the approach to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Federal agents told the source to keep talking.

On 13 February 2025, Zumba drove from New York to Jacksonville with Chen, Hailing Feng, 27, and Kin Man Cheok, 32. He brought them onto the base.

The source's spouse let the group into the personnel office after hours. The FBI had rigged the room for recording, The Maritime Executive reported.

Inside, the Chinese nationals confirmed they wanted 'military service ID cards'. Processing began for Chen and Cheok.

The next day, Zumba collected two finished cards and paid $3,500.

Agents arrested him immediately. Both cards were recovered on the spot.

Who Has Pleaded Guilty and Who Faces Charges

Zumba pleaded guilty in July 2025 to bribing a public official. He later admitted to marriage fraud conspiracy in a separate proceeding.

Former Navy recruiter Brinio Urena pleaded guilty in August 2025. He had married a Chinese woman for money that same month and helped recruit fellow sailors.

Bailey and Chambers both pleaded guilty in January 2026. All four are awaiting sentencing.

The 11 defendants named in the unsealed indictment are US citizens Chen, Yafeng Deng, 23, Hailing Feng, Kiah Holly, 29, and Jaden Bullion, 24, alongside Chinese nationals Sha Xie, 38, Linlin Wang, 38, Jiawei Chen, 29, Xionghu Fang, 41, Tao Fan, 26, and Cheok.

Chen and Wang face additional marriage fraud counts. Chen, Feng and Cheok face bribery conspiracy charges.

Deng and Holly were serving on active duty when they allegedly took part. Neither has entered a plea.

Five defendants were arrested on 3 February. Two more were due to self-surrender. Authorities said they were still looking for the rest.

Federal prosecutors are pursuing denaturalisation proceedings against Chen.

What Officials Say About the National Security Risk

Kehoe told reporters that his office is still working to determine what the Chinese nationals planned to do with access to the military base.

'We don't know yet,' he said.

A former CIA operative told Fox News Digital the case exposed 'a targeted national security threat' when service members' positions are exploited for fraud.

Common Access Cards open doors to installations, systems and facilities across the entire US military estate. At home and abroad.

Shannon Schott, a Jacksonville defence attorney not connected to the case, offered a different view. 'Everyone's really struggling financially,' she told News4Jax. 'This seems like a very straightforward business opportunity, I'm sure, to these defendants. They did not realise how aggressive the government would be in looking into these potential sham marriages.'

For some of the sailors, the money looked easy. The consequences were not.

Marriage fraud conspiracy carries up to five years in federal prison. Sentencing dates for the four former Navy members who pleaded guilty have not been set. The remaining defendants are expected to appear in the Middle District of Florida.