Two Chinese nationals, Liren Lai and Yuance Chen, have been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in the United States for conducting espionage activities on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security.
The two men will also remain under supervised release for three years after pleading guilty to carrying out intelligence operations at the direction of Chinese government officials.
According to the US Department of Justice, the men conducted covert intelligence activities in the United States, including arranging secret cash payments through “dead drops” in exchange for information related to US national security.
They also collected information about US military personnel and facilities and attempted to recruit intelligence sources from within the US military.
FBI Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division Roman Rozhavsky said the sentences should serve as a warning to anyone attempting to threaten the safety and security of US citizens, military personnel or the country.
Lai, who entered the United States on a tourist visa, recruited Chen, a permanent US resident, into the operation. Initially, Lai acted as an intermediary between Chen and Chinese intelligence officers before Chen began receiving instructions directly from his handler.
The Justice Department said the two individuals had been working for the Chinese government since at least May 2021. They were involved with a government branch responsible for conducting foreign intelligence and counterintelligence operations.
