The U.S. Justice Department has charged two Chinese nationals, Yuance Chen and Liren “Ryan” Lai, with acting as unregistered agents of China’s Ministry of State Security and conducting an espionage scheme focused on U.S. Navy personnel and installations. The men were arrested on 27 June and made initial appearances in federal courts in Portland, Oregon, and Houston, Texas, after a criminal complaint was unsealed on 1 July.
Prosecutors allege that Lai, 39, recruited Chen, 38, in 2021 and directed him to photograph Navy facilities, collect data on service members and identify potential recruits within the ranks. The pair are accused of facilitating a $10,000 cash dead-drop in a Livermore, California, locker in January 2022 for information already passed to Chinese intelligence, touring the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego and obtaining lists of recent Navy recruits from a recruiting center in San Gabriel, California.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. FBI Director Kash Patel added that the bureau “disrupted the scheme” by tracking the suspects across multiple states. A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said he was not aware of the case and dismissed the allegations as “assumptions and speculations.”
Chen and Lai face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 951, which bars acting on behalf of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General. The prosecution is the latest in a series of U.S. counter-intelligence actions targeting alleged Chinese efforts to obtain American military secrets; hearings on detention and bond conditions are expected in the coming weeks.
Justice Department Charges Two Individuals with Acting as Agents of the PRC Government
Arrests Disrupted Clandestine PRC Ministry of State Security Intelligence Network Operating in the United States
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Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP’s intel service.
Our FBI won’t stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we’re not done yet.
Espionage on U.S. soil will be met with full force.
According to the indictment, Lai Liren recruited Chen Yuantse to work for China's Ministry of National Security about four years ago. According to the FBI, related actions include arranging a “secret handover point” to provide 10,000 US dollars from Guangzhou, China to another Chinese intelligence agent in California by putting a backpack full of cash in a locker at an entertainment center. According to the FBI, the money was paid as a reward for obtaining information relating to US national security.
FBI Director Kash Patel:
Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP’s intel service.
Our FBI won’t stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we’re not done yet.
On June 27, two Chinese citizens were arrested in the US. They are suspected of acting as agents of the Chinese government to gather intelligence on US Navy personnel and bases, while they are also recruiting other soldiers to carry out missions for China's National Security (MSS).
Two Chinese nationals face espionage charges in the U.S., accused of attempting to recruit Navy personnel and gather sensitive military information. NEWSMAX Crime Correspondent Jason Mattera has the details.
@JasonMattera
JUST IN: The FBI arrested two Chinese nationals on Friday for spying inside the United States on behalf of the People’s Republic of China, including taking pictures of a U.S. naval base, coordinating a $10,000 cash dead drop for information relating to the national security of
Patel’s FBI arrests alleged Chinese spies targeting US Navy | Candace Hathaway, Blaze Media
Chinese nationals reportedly try to recruit military members for espionage.
President Donald Trump's administration arrested two more Chinese nationals on Friday as part of its efforts
