This one is so good, I thought I should repost it here. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...-that-recruited-chinese-nationals-pleads.html An El Monte man was sentenced to three years in state prison Wednesday in connection with a scheme to recruit 200 Chinese nationals and charge them for joining a phony Army Special Forces unit that he led as "supreme commander," Los Angeles County prosecutors said. Under the deal with prosecutors, Chinese national Yupeng "David" Deng pleaded guilty to three felony charges including false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of a government seal, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. As part of his sentence, he will be required to pay restitution to the victims. Separately, Deng pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child p*rnography stemming from a search warrant executed at his home in connection with the phony Army unit investigation. Deng originally was charged in state court with 13 counts of theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of an official government seal and faced a maximum of more than eight years behind bars.Ten of those counts were dismissed. Additionally, the child p*rnography possession charge could have brought an additional three years in prison. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. Authorities alleged that in 2008, Deng concocted a faux military unit he called the U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve unit and persuaded other Chinese nationals, primarily in the San Gabriel Valley, to join it. Deng told them joining the unit "was a path to U.S. citizenship" but authorities said Deng's "U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve" was actually an immigration scam that preyed on Chinese immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley desperate to become citizens. As the self-titled "supreme commander," Deng allegedly charged each recruit initiation fees as high as $450 and a $125 annual renewal fee. Recruits allegedly could promote themselves in rank by making cash donations to the defendant, prosecutors said. In addition, prosecutors alleged Deng provided his recruits with fake U.S. Army uniforms as well as phony documents and military ID cards. The recruits were also instructed to report to the defendant's office in Temple City, made up to look like an official U.S. military recruiting center, to undergo military training and indoctrination. The troop marched in local Chinese New Year parades and even received a special military tour in uniform at the aircraft carrier Midway museum in San Diego. Chinese-language newspapers ran photos of the troops with prominent community leaders. In some cases, members had gone back to China, where they bragged of their military "rank," he said.
