A Different Fraud: Chinese Man Recruits Fake Army
Scams are like cockroaches; they have endured down through time and seem to morph to fit almost any situation.
David Deng is a different type of scammer who preyed upon vulnerable Chinese immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley who were desperate to become US citizens.
Deng who calls himself the “supreme commander” of a “special forces reserve,” is accused of operating a bogus military recruitment facility in Temple City, where he charged an exorbitant fee to Chinese nationals under the pretext that their money would help their chances of becoming US citizens.
The military recruitment center is merely a storefront with window dressing and Deng was a forceful commander of this huge immigration scam, raising a fake army of more than 100 Chinese nationals.
There’s no question that this scam was elaborate and well planned.
Deng and his army marched in Chinese New Year parades and at the USS Midway museum in San Diego somehow received a special military tour in uniform.
The supreme commander even fooled the Chinese newspapers, which ran photos of the “troops” standing beside prominent leaders of the community.
It is alleged that Deng charged army recruits, who were mostly low-wage-earners working in Chinese restaurants, $300 to $450 to join the special force, plus an annual fee of $120. Still thirsting for more money, he duped his troops even further by instilling in them the belief that the more they donated to his organization, the better their chances of becoming US citizens.
Recruits were provided with fake documents, military ID cards and phony uniforms, which Deng purchased at military surplus stores.
The FBI got wind of the bogus operation some three years ago after local police began noticing that some people pulled over during traffic stops produced fake military identifications.
They began to investigate and soon discovered there were more than 800 members of this “special forces reserve” unit.
Deng was arrested and held in lieu of $500,000 bail. He is charged with 13 counts of theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of an official government seal.
He was also charged with possession of child pornography, which officials discovered during a search of Deng’s home.
If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of more than 11 years in state prison.
One can only wonder what would be next on Deng’s agenda after his release from prison.
Could it be a fake war?
Then he could recruit his fake army once again, but this time, it’s unlikely that he would win.
(Link)
MDeeDubroff
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