Chinese spies 'sham marriage' scandal exposes 'targeted' national security threat at major US base: expert
A former CIA operative says that a recent alleged "sham marriage" scandal involving U.S. Navy sailors marrying Chinese citizens exposes a "targeted" national security threat focused on a major U.S. Naval base, potentially opening the door to foreign spies.
According to court documents, Jacinth Bailey and Morgan Chambers, both Navy sailors based in Jacksonville, Florida, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud after they allegedly accepted thousands of dollars from Chinese nationals in order to enter sham marriages.
Both Bailey and Chambers allegedly took part in a plot where American citizens marry Chinese nationals for the sole purpose of getting green cards. According to Stars and Stripes, Bailey was assigned to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier as an aviation boatswain’s mate.
According to federal prosecutors, Bailey even attended a party after the sham wedding in order to "substantiate its purported legitimacy by taking pictures to be used for immigration application purpose."
The plot dates back to September 2024 and involved several other unnamed individuals who are called "conspirators" in the indictment.
In Bailey's case, she was offered a total of $45,000 for entering into the sham marriage, obtaining a green card for her "husband" and divorcing him, according to federal prosecutors, including $10,000 that was offered upfront. Chambers, according to court documents, was offered $35,000 for the sham marriage, which included obtaining a green card and getting a divorce.
Notably, the scheme specifically preferred to target members of the military to "join the conspiracy and marry Chinese nationals," prosecutors detailed.
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Chambers and Bailey face up to five years in prison if they're found guilty. Neither has entered a plea, records show.
According to Stars and Stripes, former Navy recruiter Brinio Urena pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud after marrying a Chinese woman for money in August 2024.
In July, Navy Reservist Raymond Zumba pleaded guilty after prosecutors said he tried to bribe a Naval Air Station Jacksonville official to get fraudulent military identification cards for individuals that had links to China.
J. Michael Waller told Fox News Digital that he believes the sham marriages are an attempt to gain Chinese citizens access to the U.S. Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida.
"It appears to be a targeted intelligence recruitment and collection operation. At the U.S. Naval Air Station in Jacksonville. These sham marriages, why the marriage part was important is it would entitle the Chinese spouses to get passes to the Naval base," Waller said.
Waller said there's a clear reason that U.S. service members are being targeted rather than civilians.
"There's no shortage of Americans who'll be happy to get married for a day for $50,000 and get divorced right away and take off and pocket the money. This is a targeted operation against the U.S. Naval facility. They were recruiting Navy recruiters and they were recruiting someone whose duty was aboard a naval destroyer, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer responsible for anti-submarine warfare, responsible for air defenses, and then on a much larger naval facility that has a whole lot of sensitive programs vital to the national defense."
The former CIA operative said even if the Chinese nationals weren't trying to gain national security secrets, the alleged incident exposes a major problem for the Navy.
"It's a huge issue for the Navy. It involves the screening of personnel. It involves the training of personnel, it involves discipline, and you've seen recruitment, training, and discipline deteriorate in the Navy over recent years. It's only starting to come back," he said.