Liren “Ryan” Lai and Yuance Chen, both Chinese nationals, received 30-month prison sentences following their guilty pleas to operating an espionage scheme targeting US national security interests on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security.
According to court documents, the operation began no later than May 2021, with Lai arriving on a tourist visa and subsequently recruiting Chen, a permanent resident. Lai initially acted as a go-between for Chen and Chinese intelligence handlers until Chen could receive instructions directly. The scheme involved arranging covert cash transfers, with the men facilitating a $10,000 payment in May 2022 and a subsequent $20,000 transfer using “dead drop” methods—leaving money at specified locations for collection by third parties.
Beyond financial arrangements, the pair engaged in broader intelligence gathering activities. Chen obtained photographs of naval facilities, military recruits, and active-duty sailors. He also collected personal information about a US Navy employee and compiled detailed biographical data on military personnel identified as potential recruitment targets. The Department of Justice characterized the operation as “long-running,” “extensive,” and “brazen” in its attempts to undermine US national security.
Both men were convicted on charges of conspiracy to act as foreign government agents without notification to the Attorney General, as well as acting as such agents without notification. They were arrested and charged in June 2025. The DOJ did not specify the total number of payments facilitated or the number of individuals successfully recruited through the scheme.
The case reflects ongoing espionage tensions between the United States and China. Earlier in the year, China announced it had detained a US citizen on espionage allegations, while the scholar Min Zin, holding dual US and Myanmar citizenship, was also detained after having published opinion pieces critical of Myanmar’s military government.
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