LOS ANGELES – A Woodland Hills man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges in connection with a scheme where Chinese nationals fraudulently obtained student visas by hiring people with fake Chinese passports to take an English proficiency test on their behalf.
Liu Cai, 24, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of using a false passport. United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt scheduled a February 13, 2020, sentencing hearing, at which time Cai will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Cai is the lead defendant in a 26-count federal grand jury indictment returned in March, charging six defendants with conspiring to use false passports, using false passports, and aggravated identity theft, as part of the scheme to impersonate Chinese nationals who were required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to obtain a student visa.
According to his plea agreement, in March 2015 and October 2016, Cai knowingly and willfully used counterfeit passports of the People’s Republic of China, furnishing them to proctors of the TOEFL exam. Cai admitted that he took the TOEFL exams on behalf of two Chinese nationals who sought to enter and remain in the United States on student visas.
Cai further admitted that he belonged to a network of U.S. citizens and permanent residents that were paid to impersonate TOEFL examinees. Cai impersonated a Chinese national on at least five occasions between March 2015 and October 2016, according to his plea agreement. Because of Cai’s conduct, college applicants fraudulently entered and remained in the United States on fraudulently obtained student visas, the plea agreement states.
Co-defendants Quang Cao, 24, of San Francisco; Elric Zhang, 25, of Los Angeles; Mohan Zhang, 24, of Cerritos; Samantha Wang, 25, of Corona, and Tuan Tran, 33, of Taiwan, have also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in this case and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months.
This case was handled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Fraud Detection National Security Section. The Educational Testing Service, which administers the TOEFL exam, has provided assistance during the investigation.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel J. Podesta of the General Crimes Section.
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Guilford, Tax Refund Scheme, Sacramento CA, 2025 · Alabama
- Frank Hamilton Sentenced to 5.5 Years for SBA Scam, California, 2023 · Alabama
- Amy Evangelista Sentenced to 18 Months for Tax Fraud Scheme, Lathro… · California
- Two Foreign Nationals, ID Theft Scheme, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · Florida
- Frank Hamilton, Loan Shark Scheme, CA, 2023 · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News