A Chinese citizen accused of recruiting fellow countrymen to join a phony special forces U.S. Army unit by telling them that it was a path to U.S. citizenship made his first court appearance Wednesday on felony charges.
Yupeng Deng, also known as David Deng, was arrested Tuesday and ordered to return to Pomona Superior Court for arraignment on May 2.
The 51-year-old El Monte man's bail was set at $550,000, with a bail review hearing set for Friday.
Deng is charged with 14 felony counts, including obtaining money, labor or property by false pretenses and deceptive document crime, along with an unrelated count of possession of matter depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct stemming from the alleged discovery of child pornography at his home.
Deng allegedly created a phony U.S. military unit called the U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve unit in 2008, gave himself the title of "Supreme Commander" and recruited more than 100 Chinese nationals, according to the District Attorney's Office.
He allegedly charged initiation fees ranging from $300 to $450 per year to each recruit, with renewal fees set at $120 annually.
"Essentially, this case is about fraud," said Deputy District Attorney Michael Yglecias. "Individuals who had been duped into becoming part of this unit were stopped for typical traffic violations. They were seen wearing military fatigues, who produced what they believed were legitimate military ID documents."
Defense attorney Darren Cornforth delayed entering a plea until next month.
"I think there's some misunderstanding about what was going on in this case," said Cornforth.
Recruits could increase their rank in the unit by making cash donations to Deng, according to Deputy District Attorney Richard Ceballos.
The recruits were provided with phony U.S. Army uniforms, fake documents and fraudulent military ID cards and directed to report to Deng's Temple City office for military training and indoctrination, the prosecutor alleged.
The recruits marched in a parade in Monterey Park and took a tour of the USS Midway museum in San Diego while dressed in uniform, according to the District Attorney's Office.
