Army Reaches Out To Chinese Community After Scam

SOUTH EL MONTE (AP) — U.S. Army officials say they are reaching out to Los Angeles-area Chinese communities after a man was accused of posing as a recruiter and duped about 100 immigrants into thinking they had joined the American armed forces by giving him as much as $400 each.

The Army called a press conference Monday to let the community know the proper way to seek out a real recruiter.

Authorities arrested Yupeng Deng last week on charges of obtaining money, labor or property under false pretenses, manufacturing and selling phony identification documents and using a counterfeit seal. He is being held on $500,000 bail and is set to be arraigned May 2.

Prosecutors say Deng recruited Chinese immigrants by saying it would improve their chances of obtaining green cards and U.S. citizenship.

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