Las Vegas Woman Sentenced for Marrying 14 Men to Fund Gambling Addiction

A Las Vegas woman has been sentenced to probation after it was revealed she married 14 men to fund her gambling addiction. Jiaying Chen, 34, pleaded guilty in July to multiple counts of bigamy, fraud, and obtaining money under false pretenses.

District Judge Crystal Eller ordered Chen to undergo mandatory attendance at Gamblers Anonymous meetings and counseling for her gambling addiction. She was also ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution and will be subject to electronic monitoring. The judge stated that Chen would serve one year in the Clark County Detention Center so she could understand the gravity of the potential prison sentence.

One of Chen's 14 alleged victims, Raymond Tam, testified in court, describing the daily distress and sleepless nights caused by the fraudulent marriages. Prosecutors stated that Chen, using a fake ID under the name 'Vicky Liang' for seven years, convinced her husbands to send her over $100,000 collectively. She claimed the money was desperately needed to help sick relatives in China.

Chen admitted to struggling with a gambling addiction, according to her attorney, Thomas Wells. She told detectives that she could make as much as $20,000 from one marriage and that she chose Las Vegas for the fake marriages due to the ease of getting married there. Several of her current and previous spouses reported that Chen convinced them to marry after only knowing them for a few months.

Police said the money obtained from the marriages was used for gambling, with Chen losing over $300,000 at the Wynn casino on the Las Vegas Strip in the past year alone. Chen would reportedly provide different stories to her husbands, some involving sick family members in China, and would cease all communication after receiving the funds.

Chen managed to obtain 14 marriage certificates in Clark County since March 2019 as part of this elaborate scheme.