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Flushing bizman indicted on attempted bribe charge


Liangmin Chen, 33, also known as Gui Zhong Chen, was…

By Alexander Dworkowitz

A Flushing businessman suspected of falsely promising green cards to immigrants at his Main Street office has been indicted on charges of attempted bribery in Rochester, N.Y., authorities said.

Liangmin Chen, 33, also known as Gui Zhong Chen, was indicted June 26 on charges of trying to bribe a federal officer in order to obtain immigration documents, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York in Rochester.

Chen was being held in prison without bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sylvia Johnson said.

Fred Gallina, Chen’s attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Chen, for whom authorities had no home address, has drawn the ire of Queens immigrants.

His business, Jin Quan Agency, located at 39-15 Main St. before it closed in November, allegedly scammed many Chinese immigrants by offering to secure green cards that never materialized in exchange for money, according to Ming Hai, the Flushing attorney who is representing a group of those immigrants.

Some immigrants paid Chen as much as $35,000 in expectation of obtaining a green card, Hai said.

A similar Flushing business, Guong Hua, also closed in November, and the employees of the two agencies fled town, leaving their clients empty-handed, Hai said.

Chen has not been charged with any crimes in Queens nor has anyone from Guong Hua. A law enforcement official said the Queens district attorney was continuing to investigate both agencies.

On March 18, Chen and an associate paid an undercover agent $8,000 with the expectation of receiving two employment authorization documents that allow an immigrant to work without a green card, Johnson said. The action took place somewhere near Rochester.

On April 30, Chen paid the agent $18,000 for six additional documents, Johnson said. He was arrested later that day.

Stories about immigrants in Flushing losing hard-won dollars, widely reported in the Chinese media, caught the eye of authorities and public officials.

The office of Queens DA Richard Brown began investigating immigration agencies in Flushing. State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) and state Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin (D-Flushing) renewed their push for a bill to have the state attorney general regulate such agencies.

The district attorney’s investigation led to the arrest of Peter Cheung, owner of American Immigration Consultant Inc., at 36-09 Main St. — a third Flushing agency dealing with immigrants.

In May, Cheung, who lives in Great Neck, pleaded guilty to grand larceny after admitting to defrauding one of his clients. He was sentenced to six months in prison and five years probation.

Even after fleeing Flushing, Chen stayed in touch with some of his Queens clients, Hai said. “He was still contacting his customers, still working on his schemes,” the lawyer said.

Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 141.