A Las Vegas woman who married man after man and took their money to feed a gambling habit is going to jail and must pay back more than $280,000.
Story Highlights
- Jiaying Chen, 33, pleaded guilty to bigamy and to trying to get $100,000 or more by false pretenses.
- She was sentenced to about one year in jail, counting time served, and two years of probation.
- An 8-to-20-year prison term hangs over her if she breaks the rules of her release.
- She must repay $280,062.86 and go to gambling addiction counseling.
How the Scheme Worked
Prosecutors say Chen married men, took their money and then vanished, all to pay for her gambling. Bigamy means being married to more than one person at the same time. “False pretenses” means getting money from someone by lying to them. Her own lawyer told the court that compulsive gambling drove what she did.
District Judge Crystal Eller handed down the sentence in a Clark County courtroom on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. Chen had taken a plea deal in July, after her arrest over the summer. Prosecutors also allege she used a false name, Vicky Liang, along with fake identity papers, and lied on marriage applications. County records show more than a dozen marriage licenses tied to her since 2019, according to reports. Outlets have given different counts of how many of those became actual marriages.
The Sentence
Chen will serve nearly a year in the Clark County Detention Center, with credit for the time she has already spent behind bars. After that comes two years of supervised probation. The terms require gambling addiction counseling and regular Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Gamblers Anonymous is a free support group for people trying to stop gambling.
The judge also gave her a suspended prison term of 8 to 20 years. A suspended term is a sentence that does not start unless the person breaks the terms of release. If Chen violates her probation, she can be sent to prison for that longer stretch. Nine men were listed as victims, according to reports, and the court ordered a total of $280,062.86 in repayment.
What Each Side Asked For
Defense attorney Thomas M. Wells asked for probation only. He said Chen wants to repay the victims and can only earn the money by working. “At the end of the day, sitting in custody’s not helping anyone,” he said. Speaking through an interpreter, Chen told the court she plans to work at a friend’s sushi restaurant in Florida.
Judge Eller said treatment was the best way to deal with Chen’s gambling and to keep new victims from being hurt. She also wanted Chen to finish her jail time first, “so that she understands what looking at eight to 20 [years] in prison really looks like.” According to reports, the judge worried Chen could try the same kind of scheme somewhere else under another name.
What Comes Next
Once her jail time ends, Chen will be on probation and allowed to move to Florida, according to reports. Her repayment will be tracked by the court. If she pays as ordered and keeps up with counseling, she stays out of prison. If she does not, the 8-to-20-year term is waiting. For the men who lost money, the order is a clear promise from the court that the debt is real and owed.
Sources:
news3lv.com, newsbreak.com, courttv.com, vegasnews.com, 8newsnow.com, yahoo.com, fox5vegas.com, latimes.com
