Lawyers for man accused of raising fake army say group was a charity

By Ching-Ching Ni, Los Angeles Times

Thu, 04/14/2011 - 10:15am

Images

Chinese national Yupeng Deng, left, is brought into a Pomona, California, Superior court room for arraignment on charges of allegedly creating a phony U.S. Army special forces unit and recruiting other Chinese nationals by telling them it was a path to U.S. citizenship. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles-area man accused of preying on Chinese immigrants by charging them to join a fake U.S. Army unit is actually a charity-minded businessman who modeled his military group on the Salvation Army, according to his attorney.

David Deng, 51, of El Monte, appeared in a Pomona courtroom Wednesday, shackled and wearing jail-issued clothing -- a far cry from the smart military-like uniform he wore as the "supreme commander" of the U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve. His arraignment was postponed to May 2, and a bail hearing was set for Friday, when his attorney said he'll argue for a reduction in his client's $500,000 bail.

"That is an outrageous amount for these type of charges," said Darren Cornforth, one of David Deng's attorneys. "I don't believe he is a flight risk or danger to the community."

David Deng's lawyers said their client is a businessman in China who came to the U.S. about 10 years ago to seek political asylum from religious persecution.

"He is an immigrant who came here to pursue his American dream," said Daniel Deng, his other lawyer. The two are not related.

David Deng decided to do some volunteer work in America and started his organization in 2008, his attorneys said.

"At the advice of his attorney, he set up a nonprofit, hoping to imitate the Salvation Army and other groups to show support to our military," Daniel Deng said. "He thought it's a good way to show his patriotism and gratitude to his new motherland."

Prosecutors, though, say David Deng's group was a scam that preyed on Chinese immigrants in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley who believed joining would improve their chances of attaining U.S. citizenship.

"I just want to cry," said David Deng's wife, Lisa, outside the courtroom. "We really didn't expect something like this."

David Deng is charged with theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeiting an official government seal, according the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Visit the Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.