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"Supreme Commander" of Fake Army Stands Down, Gets 3-Year Prison Sentence
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An alleged immigration scammer who claimed to be the supreme commander of a non-existent army pleaded guilty to three felonies on Wednesday.
51-year-old Yupeng Deng of Temple City, also known as David Deng, was sentenced to three years in prison for theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of an official government seal, said Deputy District Attorney Lalit Kundani, according to the L.A. County D.A.'s office.
Deng, who also had offices operating in Atlanta and Oakland, may have been a fraud but wasn't a total loser, as 10 of the charges against him were dismissed.
“He called himself the "Supreme Commander" when, in reality, he was the "Supreme Con Artist. He wanted to wear the king's robe, ride on the king's horse and wear the king's crown but he didn't have the courage to walk a day in the king's shoes," Kundani concluded.
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Deng was ordered to pay $200,000 restitution, an amount that will be confirmed at a later hearing, reported the Pasadena Star-News.
Deng, a Chinese national, charged each recruit between $300-400 to enlist and $120 a year for “renewal,” duping his victims into thinking they’d be eligible to become American citizens. Unfortunately for them you have to be a members of the actual U.S. military to be eligible for expedited U.S. citizenship, and need to be at least a permanent resident alien, according to Wired.
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