# Two Chinese Nationals Charged With Entering at John Wayne Airport Using Real U.S. Citizens' Passports > Jin Fu Wei and Xiaodan Lei, two Chinese nationals charged with misuse of U.S. passports at John Wayne Airport, remain in federal custody pending prosecution; no new court developments have been reported since the Sept. 29 charges. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/john-wayne-airport-passport-misuse-charges-2026-09-29 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/john-wayne-airport-passport-misuse-charges-2026-09-29.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/john-wayne-airport-passport-misuse-charges-2026-09-29 - Status: developing - As of: 2026-10-04T08:54:47.352+00:00 - Started: 2026-08-26T19:00:00+00:00 - Cities: Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** Jin Fu Wei, 44, of Guangxi Province, and Xiaodan Lei, 47, of Henan Province, China — both charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. The FBI and CBP are the lead investigating agencies. **What:** Both defendants are charged with misuse of a U.S. passport (18 U.S.C. § 1544), accused of presenting genuine passports belonging to real U.S. citizens whose identities they did not match. **Where:** John Wayne Airport (SNA), unincorporated Orange County (Santa Ana postal address), at the CBP international-arrivals inspection point. **When:** Arrest: Aug. 26, 2026. Charges filed: Sept. 29, 2026. Both defendants have remained in federal custody since arrest. **Why:** Prosecutors allege the defendants traveled under the stolen identities of real U.S. citizens; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Essayli cited criminal and national-security dimensions. The motive for travel is not established in public filings. ## Narrative ## Current Status As of early October 2026, the passport-misuse case against Jin Fu Wei and Xiaodan Lei remains in the pretrial phase. Both defendants have been in federal custody since their arrest on Aug. 26, 2026. No new court filings, hearings, or investigative announcements have been reported since the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced the charges on Sept. 29, 2026. ## What Happened According to the DOJ complaint, Wei and Lei arrived at John Wayne Airport (SNA) on a commercial flight from Los Cabos, Mexico, and each presented a U.S. passport belonging to a real U.S. citizen. Neither passenger's name appeared on the flight manifest, and CBP's biometric facial-recognition system returned a non-match for both. Officers detained and arrested them at the port of entry. Wei, 44, is from Guangxi Province, China. Investigators allege he also carried a Chinese credit card and bank card in his own name alongside the passport holder's expired Texas driver license. Lei, 47, is from Henan Province, China. ## Charges and Exposure Each defendant is charged with one count of misuse of a passport under [18 U.S.C. § 1544](https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/two-chinese-nationals-charged-misusing-us-passports-belonging-real-citizens-john-wayne), which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli described the case as both a criminal matter and a national-security concern. Both defendants are charged, not convicted. ## Investigation The FBI is working with CBP to determine how the defendants obtained genuine U.S. passports belonging to other people. That inquiry remains open; no arrests related to the source of the documents have been publicly announced. ## What's Next The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Future milestones to monitor include arraignment, detention hearings, and any superseding indictment that might reflect additional charges or co-conspirators identified through the passport-origin investigation. ## Timeline - **2026-08-26T19:00:00Z:** Aug. 26: Two passengers arriving at John Wayne Airport from Los Cabos allegedly present U.S. passports belonging to other people; CBP's facial-recognition check fails and both are arrested. - **2026-09-29T20:00:00Z:** Sept. 29: The U.S. Attorney's Office charges Jin Fu Wei and Xiaodan Lei with misuse of a passport; initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. ## Primary sources 1. [DOJ press release (Sept. 29)](https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/two-chinese-nationals-charged-misusing-us-passports-belonging-real-citizens-john-wayne) 2. [OC Register account](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/09/29/2-chinese-nationals-arrested-at-john-wayne-airport-for-using-passports-of-american-citizens/) 3. [18 U.S.C. § 1544 — Misuse of Passport](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1544&num=0&edition=prelim) 4. [CBP Biometric Entry Program](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics) ## Factoids - **DOJ press release (Sept. 29)** (source_doc) ([source](https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/two-chinese-nationals-charged-misusing-us-passports-belonging-real-citizens-john-wayne)): The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California charged Jin Fu Wei, 44, of Guangxi Province, and Xiaodan Lei, 47, of Henan Province, with misuse of a passport (18 U.S.C. § 1544). The complaint alleges they arrived Aug. 26, 2026 on a commercial flight from Los Cabos to John Wayne Airport and presented U.S. passports belonging to real U.S. citizens whose names did not appear on the manifest; CBP's biometric facial comparison did not match. Wei allegedly had a Chinese credit card and bank card in his own name and the passport holder's expired Texas driver license. Initial appearances were expected Sept. 29 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called it a criminal matter and a national-security concern. Each count carries up to 10 years. - **OC Register account** (source_doc) ([source](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/09/29/2-chinese-nationals-arrested-at-john-wayne-airport-for-using-passports-of-american-citizens/)): The Register reported the arrests at John Wayne Airport and the Sept. 29 charges; both defendants had been in federal custody since August. The FBI is working with CBP to determine how the defendants obtained the genuine passports. - **18 U.S.C. § 1544 — Misuse of Passport** (regulatory) ([source](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1544&num=0&edition=prelim)): Federal statute prohibiting the willful and knowingly use of a passport issued or designed for the use of another person. Maximum penalty: 10 years imprisonment; 20 years if the misuse facilitated drug trafficking or a federal crime of violence. - **CBP Biometric Entry Program** (definition) ([source](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics)): U.S. Customs and Border Protection uses automated biometric facial-comparison technology at international arrival lanes. The system compares a traveler's live photo against passport and visa images in government databases; a non-match triggers secondary inspection. CBP reports the program has identified hundreds of impostors at airports nationwide. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.