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Immigration attorney arrested in federal sting, accused of trying to help client flee US

A California immigration lawyer was arrested Friday and charged with attempted witness tampering after being targeted in a federal sting operation related to a “maternity tourism” case.

The government says in court filings that attorney Ken Zhiyi Liang, 38, agreed to accept $6,000 from one of his clients, who is a material witness in the maternity tourism case, to help her flee the U.S., reports the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.). He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Liang could not be reached for comment and an individual answering the phone at his office declined the newspaper’s request for comment. He told federal agents after his arrest in the Los Angeles case that he had done nothing wrong.

The maternity tourism case centers on wealthy Chinese women who reportedly paid $15,000 to $80,000 to come to the United States while pregnant, hoping to give birth to their children here and thus have them become U.S. citizens, according to the Times and Reuters.

In March, the feds raided several southern California apartment complexes where pregnant women were thought to be housed in connection with the claimed scheme. Although those found there were not charged criminally, some two dozen people are considered material witnesses and were ordered not to leave the U.S.

Liang represented four witnesses, the articles explain. In April, two of the four, a husband and wife, left for China. Then, only days afterward, a third client tried to fly to China with her husband and child, but was stopped.

Suspecting that the lawyer might be involved in their travel plans, the feds approached the fourth client, the Times reports. She made audio and video recordings of in-person meetings with Liang in which he allegedly agreed to accept $6,000 to help her get back to China and stressed the need for secrecy.

See also:

ABAJournal.com: “Birthing Center for Chinese ‘Maternity Tourists’ Is Shut Down in California”