Suspect in Testing Scam Faces New Charges

An Arcadia man accused of setting up a cross-country academic exam cheating ring faces new charges that he conspired to operate a company that helped immigrants in the U.S. fraudulently obtain Canadian citizenship, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Po Chieng Ma, 45, was arraigned in Manhattan federal court in New York for allegedly operating a scheme that charged $3,000 to help immigrants become citizens of Canada by providing false documents and claiming that they had lived in Canada for at least three years. As Canadian citizens, the immigrants were then able to work and live in the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ma’s attorney said Wednesday that he had not entered a plea.

Authorities said they stumbled onto Ma’s ring when they were searching his computer files on the examination charge.

In October, Ma was accused of arranging for clients to be supplied with the answers to standardized academic exams. Authorities say Ma dispatched teams of test-takers on the East Coast who would then phone in the answers to him; these answers were inscribed onto pencils that were given to the clients.

Ma is free on $150,000 bail but is wearing an electronic bracelet to monitor his whereabouts, his attorney said.