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A Chinese national accused of spying on the U.S. Navy was arrested last week in Texas, federal officials say.
Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, is charged with gathering intelligence on behalf of China’s principal foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security. Lai was arrested Friday in Houston.
Authorities say he was working with Yuance Chen, 38, a Chinese national living in Happy Valley, Ore. Chen was also arrested Friday.
According to federal court documents, the two men were gathering information about U.S. national security, including intelligence about U.S. Navy personnel and bases, and working to recruit U.S. military members as potential spies.
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“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 in a statement Tuesday.
Concerns over Chinese spying have intensified in recent years.
In 2023, the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast after it flew over sensitive military sites across North America. U.S. officials believed the balloon was equipped to collect intelligence signals and was part of a massive aerial spy program targeting more than 40 countries.
Related:Pentagon says China has had spy balloon program for years as hearings in Congress open
In the most recent case, court documents allege Lai recruited Chen to work for China’s Ministry of State Security in 2021. While in Guangzhou, China, in January 2022, the men facilitated what is called a dead-drop payment of at least $10,000 on behalf of the ministry, working with others in the U.S. to leave a backpack with cash at a day-use locker at a recreational facility in Livermore, Calif., court documents say.
In 2022 and 2023, the two visited a U.S. Naval installation in Washington state, as well as a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, Calif., according to court documents. At the recruitment center, Chen took photos of a bulletin board that contained the names, programs and hometowns of Navy recruits, most of whom were originally from China. The photographs were then transmitted to an intelligence officer in China, the Department of Justice said.
Court documents say Lai traveled to Houston in April, saying he planned to work on his online retail business for two weeks. Four weeks after arriving, on May 9, he traveled by car with a companion from Houston to Southern California. Lai returned to Texas on May 15.
The Justice Department says the Chinese security ministry gave Chen instructions on what to say to potential recruits about pay, preferred Naval assignments and methods to reduce his risk of being exposed. Chen eventually began communicating with a member of the Navy on social media and arranged for a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego, the complaint says.
Both men were charged with operating in the U.S. as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general. If convicted, they face a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
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A Chinese national accused of spying on the U.S. Navy was arrested last week in Texas, federal officials say.
Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, is charged with gathering intelligence on behalf of China’s principal foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security. Lai was arrested Friday in Houston.
Authorities say he was working with Yuance Chen, 38, a Chinese national living in Happy Valley, Ore. Chen was also arrested Friday.
According to federal court documents, the two men were gathering information about U.S. national security, including intelligence about U.S. Navy personnel and bases, and working to recruit U.S. military members as potential spies.
Breaking News
“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 in a statement Tuesday.
Concerns over Chinese spying have intensified in recent years.
In 2023, the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast after it flew over sensitive military sites across North America. U.S. officials believed the balloon was equipped to collect intelligence signals and was part of a massive aerial spy program targeting more than 40 countries.
Related:Pentagon says China has had spy balloon program for years as hearings in Congress open
In the most recent case, court documents allege Lai recruited Chen to work for China’s Ministry of State Security in 2021. While in Guangzhou, China, in January 2022, the men facilitated what is called a dead-drop payment of at least $10,000 on behalf of the ministry, working with others in the U.S. to leave a backpack with cash at a day-use locker at a recreational facility in Livermore, Calif., court documents say.
In 2022 and 2023, the two visited a U.S. Naval installation in Washington state, as well as a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, Calif., according to court documents. At the recruitment center, Chen took photos of a bulletin board that contained the names, programs and hometowns of Navy recruits, most of whom were originally from China. The photographs were then transmitted to an intelligence officer in China, the Department of Justice said.
Court documents say Lai traveled to Houston in April, saying he planned to work on his online retail business for two weeks. Four weeks after arriving, on May 9, he traveled by car with a companion from Houston to Southern California. Lai returned to Texas on May 15.
The Justice Department says the Chinese security ministry gave Chen instructions on what to say to potential recruits about pay, preferred Naval assignments and methods to reduce his risk of being exposed. Chen eventually began communicating with a member of the Navy on social media and arranged for a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego, the complaint says.
Both men were charged with operating in the U.S. as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general. If convicted, they face a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
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