A resident of Temple City, California, is accused of running a fake military recruitment centre, where Chinese would-be-immigrants were made to pay to join a “special forces reserve” unit that would supposedly improve their chances of becoming US citizens. The “unit” is well known in Los Angeles, and was assumed to be genuine.

Says the LA Times:

Last year, one Chinese-language newspaper reported that an Alhambra taxi driver was arrested near Los Angeles International Airport after producing counterfeit military identification while trying to get out of a traffic stop.

Investigators learned that the recruits were told that the military IDs could be used to avoid getting traffic tickets and to receive certain types of military benefits and discounts, Eimiller said.

Some of the recruits were so convinced that they were part of the U.S. military that they actually visited real Army recruiting centers and tried to pay their monthly dues directly to the U.S. government, Eimiller said. That was another tipoff when investigators began looking into the group.

Local Chinese American leaders on Wednesday said they were shocked that a group that was such a familiar presence in the community is now being accused of being a fraud.

The orchestrator of the scam, one Daniel Deng, faces up to 11 years in prison, if convicted.

[Source: LATimes]