California pair convicted in Chinese birth tourism scheme

LOS ANGELES -- A jury on Friday convicted a Southern California couple of running a business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States without revealing their intentions to give birth to babies who would automatically have American citizenship.

Michael Liu and Phoebe Dong were found guilty of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of money laundering in a federal court in Los Angeles.

The case against the pair went to trial nine years after federal authorities searched more than a dozen homes across Southern California in a crackdown on so-called birth tourism operators who authorities said encouraged pregnant women to lie on their visa paperwork and hide their pregnancies and helped the women travel to deliver their babies in the United States.

Liu and Dong were charged in 2019 along with more than a dozen others, including a woman who later pleaded guilty to running a company known as “You Win USA” and was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Prosecutors and attorneys for the defendants declined to comment in court on Friday.

Prosecutors alleged Liu and Dong's company “USA Happy Baby” helped several hundred birth tourists between 2012 and 2015 and charged as the tourists much as $40,000 for services including apartment rentals during their stays in Southern California.

Prosecutors said the pair worked with overseas entities that coached women on what to say during visa interviews and to authorities upon arriving in U.S. airports and suggested they wear loose clothing to hide pregnancies and take care not to “waddle like a penguin.”

“Their business model always included deceiving U.S. immigration authorities,” federal prosecutor Kevin Fu told jurors during closing arguments.

During the trial, defense attorneys for the couple —who are now separated — said prosecutors failed to link their clients to the women in China and only provided services once they were in the United States. Kevin Cole, an attorney for Liu, said the government failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt or tie his client to communication with the pregnant tourists in China.

John McNicholas, who represented Dong, argued birth tourism is not a crime. He said the women traveled overseas with help from other companies, not his client’s, and that Dong assisted women who would have faced punitive actions under China’s one-child policy had they returned to give birth back home.

“It’s an admirable task she is taking on. It shouldn’t be criminalized,” he said.

Birth tourism businesses have long operated in California and other states and have catered to couples not only from China, but Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere. It isn’t illegal to visit the United States while pregnant, but authorities said lying to consular and immigration officials about the reason for travel on government documents is not permitted.

The key draw for travelers has been that the United States offers birthright citizenship, which many believe could help their children secure a U.S. college education and provide a sort of future insurance policy — especially since the tourists themselves can apply for permanent residency once their American child turns 21.

Liu and Dong are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9.