An alleged Flushing con artist was arrested by FBI agents in Brooklyn Friday morning after a federal grand jury indicted him for perpetrating a visa fraud scheme by pretending to be an ICE agent.
Tommy Aijie Da Silva Weng, 49, was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court on Friday afternoon on an indictment charging him with wire fraud, mail fraud, and impersonating a federal law enforcement agent in connection to a scam to defraud an unidentified Chinese citizen who resides in the United States by claiming he could help her in obtaining a green card through an EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program if she invested $500,000 with him for a project to build hotels in California.
Weng, also known as “Tommy Weng Da Silva and “Jacky” drove a red Hummer with a vanity New York license plate that says “BWTICE,” a reference to a Flushing temple he frequents and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to federal prosecutors.
“As alleged, Weng falsely represented himself as a member of federal law enforcement to gain the trust of an unsuspecting victim,” U.S. Attorney John Durham said. “The defendant preyed on the victim’s desire to become a United States citizen and pursue the American Dream, then stole not only that dream but also hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
According to court filings, the fraud scheme began in April 2016, shortly after Weng falsely claimed to the victim that he was a federal law enforcement agent, explaining that he was able to use his law enforcement connections to assist her with obtaining a green card on an expedited basis if she invested a half-million dollars with him.
He showed her a law enforcement badge and gave her a business card from the “Federal Officers Police Association” bearing his name. On another occasion, Weng told the victim that he worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and that he was transferring to a new law enforcement position with INTERPOL in Milan, Italy.
Based on Weng’s representations, during a meeting in Flushing a month later, the woman provided Weng with a check for $501,500 made payable to Ding Cheng Overseas Management Inc, a company he owns in Brooklyn. Instead of investing the money or submitting a visa application on her behalf, Weng pocketed the cash and strung the victim along with a series of lies about why the process was delayed for approximately eight years.
“Today, real law enforcement agents put the handcuffs on this fraudster, and he will now have to answer for his crimes,” Durham said.
Weng was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lara Eshkenazi. If convicted, Weng faces up to 43 years in federal prison.
“For nearly eight years, Tommy Weng allegedly curated a false persona of a federal law enforcement officer with flashy props and empty assurances of guaranteed lawful status to swindle a vulnerable victim of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie Backschies said. “This alleged imposter twisted a respected profession into an elaborate scheme while violating the public’s trust in law enforcement.”
Anyone with information about crimes committed by Weng should contact the FBI at NY_WengTips@fbi.gov.
“The FBI will continue to apprehend any individual who exploits an authoritative position to garner illicit profits,” Backschies said.
