Diplomat Impersonator Elena Lin Yee Enters Into Pretrial Agreement

A pretrial diversion agreement was announced today with Elena Lin Yee, stemming from a 2005 indictment for impersonating a diplomat and using false identification. The agreement was signed June 5 in accordance with specifications from U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Jenkins.

On September 6, 2005, U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security (DS) Special Agents in the U.S. Virgin Islands arrested Ms. Yee for impersonating a U.S. Ambassador and using fraudulently-obtained State Department credentials, officials of the Justice and State Departments stated.

Elena Lin Yee allegedly had claimed to be the U.S. Ambassador to Grenada, and at other times, the wife of a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Yee, who is also known as Elena Lilly, is 67 years old and a long-time resident of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She has been under investigation since the early 1990s for allegedly impersonating U.S. government officials, illegally obtaining services including motorcades and police protection, and attempting to illegally obtain diplomatic passports and other official U.S. government credentials. She was charged with one count of impersonating a U.S. government official and one count of misuse of an official pass or permit, which carry a maximum sentence of three and five years, respectively.

As part of the pre-trial diversion plea agreement, Ms. Yee accepted responsibility for her behavior, and agreed to a set of conditions during the following 18 months. During that time, Ms. Yee must report to a pretrial diversion supervisor and not use any diplomatic titles, including "Ambassador" or "Ambassador at Large," unless authorized to do so by a competent authority. In addition, as part of the pre-trial diversion, Ms. Yee agreed not to commit any federal, state, or local violations of law.

Diplomatic Security agents allege that Ms. Yee, who often went by the title of "Her Excellency Ambassador-at-Large Elena Lilly," claimed to be an heiress to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical family fortune, and was successful in conning law enforcement officers and other government officials from several state, territorial, and foreign governments into providing her with protective services and other perks including motorcades, parades, and access to sensitive events. Diplomatic Security agents began an investigation in 1996 into allegations of passport fraud, and later expanded the investigation to include agents from the Offices of Inspector General of both the Departments of State and Homeland Security.

"Diplomatic Security agents are sworn to protect the interests of the State Department and the diplomats and ambassadors who work to promote U.S. interests around the world," stated Special Agent in Charge Christopher Tremann, of Diplomatic Security’s San Juan office. "Individuals who masquerade as U.S. government employees, especially of such a high rank as an ambassador, could create unfortunate diplomatic incidents and confusion, thereby distracting law enforcement and protection agencies from more significant security issues."

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the U.S. Department of State’s law enforcement and security arm. The special agents, engineers, and security professionals of the Bureau are responsible for the security of 285 U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. In the United States, Diplomatic Security personnel protect the U.S. Secretary of State and high-ranking foreign dignitaries and officials visiting the United States, investigate passport and visa fraud, and conduct personnel security investigations. More information about the U.S. Department of State and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security may be obtained at www.state.gov/m/ds.

Contact:
L. Kendal Smith
571-345-2509
SmithLK2@state.gov