California immigration service operators indicted for asylum fraud

SAN FRANCISCO, California — A federal grand jury has indicted Dongquan "Derek" Jin and Yimin "Kelly" Lu for allegedly aiding and abetting false statements on asylum applications. The indictment was announced by United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and other officials.

Jin and Lu operated Gospel Immigration Service, Inc., a Newark, California-based corporation, which purportedly assisted individuals with immigration documents and benefits, including asylum, according to the indictment filed on August 20, 2024, and unsealed on September 19, 2024. The indictment alleges that Jin and Lu were listed as application preparers on over 200 asylum applications submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) between 2013 and 2024. They allegedly provided clients with sample personal statements describing persecution to use in their asylum applications.

The indictment further claims that Jin and Lu reviewed and edited clients' personal statements, incorporating false and embellished details to enhance the chances of asylum approval. Before USCIS interviews, Jin and Lu allegedly instructed clients to memorize false details and facilitated interview training sessions to improve the likelihood of a favorable outcome. Clients were charged at least $5,000 for their services, with additional pressure for bonuses or "red envelopes" upon application approval.

Jin and Lu are scheduled to appear in federal court on October 16, 2024, before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer. Both face a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted. The court will determine any sentence following conviction based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jared S. Buszin and E. Wistar Wilson are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Tina Rosenbaum. The investigation was led by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and DSS representatives to the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), overseen by Homeland Security Investigations. USCIS's Office of Fraud Detection and National Security provided significant assistance, according to the press release.