Police say Jiaying Chen used an alias, fake documents and repeated marriage applications while seeking money from men.
LAS VEGAS, NV — A 33-year-old woman is facing felony charges after Las Vegas police said she married multiple men, used fake identification records and sought thousands of dollars from people who believed they were in real relationships.
Jiaying Chen is being held in the Clark County Detention Center on $100,000 bail as prosecutors pursue five felony counts of bigamy and two counts tied to alleged fictitious financial instruments. The case has drawn attention because police say the records span years, include an alias and involve several men who told investigators they gave Chen large sums of money.
Chen was arrested June 4 inside a restaurant in the southwest Las Vegas Valley after detectives received a tip that she planned to meet a man there to discuss a possible marriage. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives and Homeland Security Investigations special agents watched the restaurant before officers moved in. Police said Chen verbally identified herself when approached. Detectives later searched her purse for identification records and found documents that raised more questions about her identity. One document was a U.S. passport bearing the name Vicky Liang but showing Chen’s photo, police said. A Nevada driver’s license with the same name and photo also was found. Investigators said the documents had problems with paper thickness, color and official symbols.
The arrest report says detectives found no Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles record for a Vicky Liang with the same birth date or license number. Police then searched Clark County marriage license records using the Vicky Liang name. They found eight license applications under that name, according to the report. A records administration manager at the marriage office told detectives that seven of those applications led to marriage certificates. Police said the counterfeit Nevada driver’s license was used on six applications and the passport was used on two. The investigation also found a recent license application filed April 23, 2025, followed by a marriage certificate on May 5, 2025. The man listed in that marriage told detectives he gave Chen money, later learned she had married other people and filed for an annulment in Clark County Family Court. The annulment was entered Aug. 29, 2025.
Police said the alleged pattern continued this year. Detectives spoke with a man named on an April 23, 2026, marriage certificate. He told police he had known Chen for about six months before they married and said he gave her $20,000 to help her half-sister. He told investigators they were still married. Police also reviewed applications filed April 27, May 4, May 10 and June 1. Investigators said they had not confirmed whether any of those marriages had been annulled or dissolved. Another man tied to a May 21 application told detectives he gave Chen $30,000 and planned to remain married to her. Detectives wrote that Chen was currently married to six people and that most of the marriages happened within the past three months.
Investigators said the case began to take shape after men connected to Chen grew suspicious and after the Clark County Marriage Bureau reported concerns to police. A prosecutor said in court that Chen had been married five times within a matter of months this year and had obtained 14 marriage certificates since 2019 under her real name and the Vicky Liang alias. Police said the alleged requests for money often came after a short relationship. In one account cited by investigators, Chen would suggest marriage, then describe family problems, including sick relatives in China, and ask for money. One man told police Chen sought $40,000 for what she described as a sick family member. Another said she asked for $23,000, then told him she no longer wanted to be married.
The allegations are not limited to marriage records. Police also investigated claims from a woman who said she lost $40,000 in a check-cashing scheme. Investigators said Chen wrote bad checks from a man’s account, according to the report. Prosecutors previously charged Chen in August 2024 with bigamy and theft, but court records show she did not appear for her first hearing. Police said multiple warrants were issued after missed court appearances. The latest case lists five bigamy counts and two counts of intent to utter a fictitious bill, note or check. Earlier forgery and theft counts involving $25,000 to $100,000 have since been dropped, according to court records cited in reports on the case.
Chen’s arrest at the restaurant followed a tip that connected the new meeting to the earlier investigation. Police said the man she was expected to meet had been discussing marriage with her. Detectives and federal agents set up surveillance, waited for Chen to arrive and took her into custody inside the business. The southwest valley location became the point where investigators tied together the alleged fake documents, the marriage filings and the open warrants. The arrest report does not say whether the man at the planned meeting gave Chen money. It also does not say whether all people named in the marriage records knew about the other marriages before speaking with police.
The court case is now moving through Las Vegas Justice Court. Chen has not been convicted, and the charges remain allegations unless proved in court. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 29. At that hearing, prosecutors are expected to present enough evidence for a judge to decide whether the case should proceed. Investigators still are reviewing marriage records, financial claims and identification documents. The status of several marriages remains unclear, including whether annulments or divorces have been filed for all certificates tied to the case.
For Clark County officials, the case centers on routine public records that allegedly showed a pattern after multiple applications were compared. Marriage licenses are common in Las Vegas, where the county issues large numbers of licenses each year and the wedding industry is part of the city’s identity. In this case, police said the repetition of names, identification documents and recent dates helped investigators build a timeline. The men’s accounts added another layer, with several describing money transfers or requests tied to family emergencies. Police said those details are part of the evidence now before prosecutors.
Chen remained in custody Saturday, June 20, with bail set at $100,000. Her next listed court date is June 29, when a judge is expected to hear the first major review of the evidence in the felony case.
Author note: Last updated June 20, 2026.