With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Two people convicted of running a Chinese 'maternity hotel' in Rancho Cucamonga
Concern about people traveling to the U.S. to give birth are not new. Here protesters gather outside San Bernardino County Superior Court in 2015 as a judge hears a motion for a preliminary injunction against a Chino Hills maternity hotel.
(
Irfan Khan
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Two people were convicted on Friday of operating a maternity hotel in Rancho Cucamonga, which rented housing units and provided other services to pregnant women from China to give birth in Southern California in an industry known as "birth tourism".
Rancho Cucamonga residents Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong were found guilty of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of international money laundering, according to authorities.
The operation
The maternity hotel operated by Liu and Dong was in business for at least between 2012 and 2015, according to authorities. Besides providing housing, the two offered guidance to their clients — including tips on how to:
- Obtain visas to stay in the U.S.
- Get legal documents like birth certificates for their newborns
- Talk to customs officials to evade suspicion.
- Choose entry points to the U.S. "with perceived less customs scrutiny, such as Hawaii."
Liu and Dong received money from overseas and used that money to promote their scheme.
Sponsored message
Authorities said the pair charged tens of thousands of dollars for those services.
The backstory on maternity hotels
The vast Chinese diaspora in the region has made Southern California one of the epicenters of Chinese birth tourism — where non-citizens travel to the U.S. to give their newborns birthright citizenship. Typically, the women and their babies leave the region shortly after childbirth.
-
L.A. County's annual Hate Crime Report found 345 anti-Black crimes recorded in 2024 — the highest number since the commission started reporting on hate crimes in 1980. -
The Sheriff's Department has faced scandals over jail conditions in the past. -
Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to federal prison for his role in the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry.
The region has seen periodic crackdowns of these establishments — a high-profile raid took place in the San Gabriel Valley area about a decade ago, around the same time the Rancho Cucamonga hotel operated by Liu and Dong were in business.
What's next
Liu and Dong are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 and will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy charge, and up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the international money laundering charge.
At LAist, we focus on what matters to our community: clear, fair, and transparent reporting that helps you make decisions with confidence and keeps powerful institutions accountable.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
