A man who recruited and charged some 200 Chinese nationals to join a fake U.S. Army Special Forces unit pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to prison Wednesday.

According to the Los Angeles County prosecutors, Yupeng David Deng led the phony unit as their supreme commander and charged the recruits initiation fees as high as $450 dollars and $125 annual renewal fees. The recruits were primarily from the San Gabriel Valley.

Deng created the phony U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve unit in 2008 to persuade Chinese nationals that it is a path to U.S. Citizenship. They were given fake U.S. Army uniforms and I.D. cards and went through military training and indoctrination at a fake recruiting center.

In the end, it was an immigration scheme that didn't end well for Deng.

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