More PRC agents convicted for stalking, harassing Chinese in US

Convicted as agents for the People's Republic of China, (from left) Zhu Yong, 66,
Michael McMahon, 55, and Zheng Congying, 27, 

A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted three men on multiple counts of acting and conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), without prior notification to the Attorney General.

“The conviction of these three defendants – including a retired NYPD sergeant – is yet another powerful reminder of the Chinese government’s ongoing, pervasive, and illegal behavior here in the United States,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

Michael McMahon, 55, of Mahwah, New Jersey, was convicted June 20 of acting as an illegal agent of the PRC, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking US Chinese residents.

In the same court, Congying Zheng, 27, of Brooklyn, was convicted of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking; and Zhu Yong aka Jason Zhu, 66, of Queens, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of the PRC, acting as an illegal agent of the PRC, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking.

“The defendants engaged in a campaign of harassment and coercion on behalf of the PRC to force the victim’s repatriation to China from the United States, including by threatening family members,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, McMahon – a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator – and Zhu knowingly acted at the direction of the PRC government officials to conduct surveillance and engage in a campaign to harass, stalk and coerce certain residents of the United States to return to the PRC as part of a global and extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.” Zheng engaged in interstate stalking of the same victims, leaving a threatening note at their residence.

Tuesday's verdict follows a three-week trial before US District Judge Pamela K. Chen. McMahon faces up to 20 years in prison, Zhu faces up to 25 years in prison, and Zheng faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“The jury’s verdict confirms that defendants McMahon and Zhu knowingly acted at the direction of a hostile foreign state to harass, intimidate and attempt to cause the involuntary return of a resident of the New York metropolitan area to the People’s Republic of China, and that defendant Zheng harassed and intimidated that same person and his family,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. 

“It is particularly troubling that defendant Michael McMahon, a former sergeant in the New York City Police Department, engaged in surveillance, harassment, and stalking on behalf of a foreign power for money."

As proven at trial, between approximately 2016 and 2019, the defendants participated in an international campaign with members of the PRC government as part of “Operation Fox Hunt” to threaten, harass, surveil and intimidate John Doe #1 and his family, in order to force John Doe #1 and his wife, Jane Doe #1, to return to the PRC. In or around 2015, the PRC government caused the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), an inter-governmental law enforcement organization, to issue “Red Notices” for John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1, alleging that both persons were wanted by the PRC government on corruption-related charges.

Zhu hired McMahon who obtained detailed information about John Doe #1, his wife, and his daughter from a law enforcement database and other government databases, then reported back to Zhu and others, including a PRC police officer, what he had learned. McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s sister-in-law and provided Zhu and PRC officials with detailed reports of what he had observed. The operation was supervised and directed by several PRC officials, including co-conspirators Hu Ji, a PRC police officer with the Wuhan Public Security Bureau and Tu Lan, a PRC prosecutor with the Wuhan Procuratorate.

In April 2017, Tu Lan and Hu Ji transported John Doe #1’s then-82-year-old father from the PRC to the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s sister-in-law to attempt to convince John Doe #1 to return to the PRC. The testimony established that John Doe #1’s father was brought by a PRC doctor and charged co-conspirator, Li Minjun, and that while John Doe #1’s father was in the United States, his daughter was threatened with jailing in the PRC. A co-conspirator conducted surveillance of the home during the visit, wearing night-vision goggles provided by the PRC doctor and the PRC prosecutor. McMahon tailed John Doe #1 from the meeting with his elderly father, back to his home, and provided John Doe #1’s address – which was previously unknown – to the PRC operatives.

In October 2016 and April 2017, McMahon emailed himself a China Daily News article titled “Interpol Launches Global Dragnet for 100 Chinese Fugitives,” which stated, “Amid the nation’s intensifying antigraft campaign, arrest warrants were issued by Interpol China for former State employees and others suspected of a wide range of corrupt practices. China Daily was authorized by the Chinese justice authorities to publish the information below.” The article provided a list of photographs and identifying information about Operation Fox Hunt targets by the PRC government, including those of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1.

On Sept. 4, 2018, Zheng drove to the New Jersey residence of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 and pounded on the front door. He and a co-conspirator attempted to force open the door to the residence, then left a note that stated “If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That’s the end of this matter!”

Previously, three other defendants pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the PRC-directed harassment and intimidation campaign.

Zebin pleaded guilty in March 2022 to interstate stalking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Hongru Jin pleaded guilty in June 2021 to conspiring to act as an illegal agent of the PRC and interstate stalking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Tu Lan, Hu Ji and Li Minjun are fugitives.

McMahon faces up to 20 years in prison, Zhu faces up to 25 years in prison, and Zheng faces up to 10 years in prison.

The arrests of alleged PRC agents operating in the US follows stepped up efforts of the federal government to ferret out the PRC's espionage strategies. It is occuring  during a time of heightened economic competition and geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers.

The US government has arrested and prosecuted several Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans in its investigation into the PRC's surveillance and harassment of people living in the US in recent years.

Beijing has defended the operation as part of an anti-corruption campaign and said its law enforcement agencies follow international laws when abroad.

But Washington has accused the operation of targeting dissidents and opponents of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

According to a report by Spanish-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders, nearly 10,000 Chinese nationals worldwide have been forcibly returned since 2014.

“We hope this verdict serves as a message to other operatives in the United States working right now at the behest of the People’s Republic of China in its effort to silence those who speak out against it,” Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent James Dennehy said.

"At the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security, the defendants engaged in increasingly egregious efforts at repression, from stalking to outright threats and intimidation tactics undertaken at the victim’s family home. This will not be tolerated within our borders, plain and simple," added Turner. "If you or someone you know have been targeted in this manner, we urge you to contact the FBI – and to all those engaging in such repression tactics, stand forewarned.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

New research shows significant racial disparities against Chinese and Asians in espionage prosecutions

The China Initiative undertaken during the Donald Trump administration has accused dozens
of Chinese researchers of improper relations with the Peoples Republic of China.

Defendants with Chinese and Asian names are punished more severely and arrested at a higher rate than whites accused of espionage, according to a new analysis released Tuesday.

From 1996 to 2020 of 276 individuals with Asian or Chinese names in 190 cases shows they are being prosecuted and punished more severely and arrested at a higher rate than Western defendants, says a study by the Committee of 100, an organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, and philanthropy.

Additionally, jail time for Chinese and Asian defendants is double compared to Western defendants and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is much more likely to publicize alleged “spying” by people with Asian names than alleged “spying” by people with Western names.

To download the full white paper, click here.

“This research is critical to understanding the racial discrimination and implicit bias that are the byproducts of a rush to ensure national security, which is making America a less attractive place for immigrants of all backgrounds," said Zheng Yu Huang, President of Committee of 100. 

"America is a place of law and justice, where our diversity is our strength,” said Huang.

These are just some of the conclusions drawn from a new detailed study “Racial Disparities in Economic Espionage Act Prosecutions: A Window into the New Red Scare.”

The study, co-led by Committee of 100 and Andrew Chongseh Kim, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Visiting Scholar at South Texas College of Law, analyzed court filings for all cases charged under the EEA from 1996 to 2020: 276 individual defendants charged across 190 cases, as coded in the Federal PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system. The study provides empirical data that individuals, particularly those with Chinese or Asian names, are disproportionately and adversely impacted under the EEA.

“We spent thousands of hours analyzing federal court filings and Department of Justice press releases. Unfortunately, the data reveals that Asian Americans and others of Asian descent are treated differently by our justice system,” said Andrew Chongseh Kim. 

“People of Asian descent are more likely to be accused of spying even though they are less likely to actually be convicted of those charges. Perhaps more troubling, the DOJ is much more likely to publicize allegations of spying when they involve people with Asian names. These findings suggest that ordinary Asian American citizens are becoming collateral damage in our efforts to protect America’s economy.”

Highlights from the white paper and research include:

• The percentage of Chinese and Asian defendants charged skyrocketed over the past decade. Prior to 2009, two-thirds of the defendants charged under the EEA were people with Western names, while 16% were people with Chinese names. However, since 2009, the majority of people charged with EEA offenses have been people of Chinese descent.

• Domestic espionage cases nearly as high as international cases. Although news stories focus on espionage for China, 42% of the defendants charged under the EEA were alleged to have stolen trade secrets for the benefit of an American business or person. 46% alleged theft for the benefit of China, while the remaining 12% alleged theft for the benefit of other countries, including Australia and Russia.

• Cases against college and university professors are not common. Although much has been written accusing faculty and staff at universities as agents of economic espionage, the actual charges against these defendants rarely include accusations of espionage. Only 3% of the alleged theft of trade secrets alleged under the EEA occurred in research institutions. These new findings raise concerns that the DOJ is searching for spies in the places they are least likely to find them.

• One in three Asian Americans accused of espionage have been falsely accused. This study found that 27% of presumed Asian American citizens charged under the EEA were not convicted of any crimes. An additional 6% of Asian Americans were convicted only of process offenses like false statements. In total, 1 in 3 Asian Americans accused of espionage may have been falsely accused.

• People of Chinese and Asian descent are punished twice as severely. Half of the defendants with Western names (49%) convicted under the EEA were given sentences of probation only, with no incarceration. In contrast, the vast majority of defendants of Asian descent (75%) were sent to prison, in particular defendants of Chinese descent (80%). Additionally, Chinese and Asian defendants convicted of economic espionage received average sentences of 27 and 23 months respectively, roughly twice as long as the average sentence of 12 months for defendants with Western names.

• Surprise arrests are higher for those of Chinese and Asian descent. Although movies and TV dramas inevitably highlight the “perp walk,” only 38% of EEA defendants with Western names were actually arrested and handcuffed. Instead, most defendants with Western names received a formal letter summoning them to court to face the charges against them. In contrast, the first time 69% of defendants of Asian descent and 78% of EEA defendants of Chinese descent, learned they had been charged was when they were arrested, generally with handcuffs.

• The DOJ publicizes EEA charges against people with Asian names more than EEA against people with Western names. The DOJ issues a press release announcing EEA charges in over 80% of cases that involve defendants with Asian names. In contrast, the DOJ issues press releases in only half (51%) of EEA cases involving defendants with Western names.

“We must recognize the racial stereotyping that the Chinese and Asian American communities have had to deal with for over two centuries, starting with the ‘Yellow Peril’ of the 19th century to the ‘perpetual foreigner’ stereotype that still exists today,” said Huang,

Former CIA officer arrested and charged with espionage

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma

A former CIA officer was arrested Aug. 14 and charged with spying for China.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 67, is accused with conspiring with a relative of who also was a former CIA officer to communicate classified information up to the Top Secret level to intelligence officials of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 

“The trail of Chinese espionage is long and, sadly, strewn with former American intelligence officers who betrayed their colleagues, their country and its liberal democratic values to support an authoritarian communist regime,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. 

 “This betrayal is never worth it," continued Demers. "Whether immediately, or many years after they thought they got away with it, we will find these traitors and we will bring them to justice. To the Chinese intelligence services, these individuals are expendable. To us, they are sad but urgent reminders of the need to stay vigilant.”

Ma is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Hong Kong. According to court documents, Ma began working for the CIA in 1982, maintained a Top Secret clearance, and signed numerous non-disclosure agreements in which he acknowledged his responsibility and ongoing duty to protect U.S. government secrets during his tenure at CIA. Ma left the CIA in 1989 and lived and worked in Shanghai, China before arriving in Hawaii in 2001.

According to court documents, Ma and his relative (identified as co-conspirator #1) conspired with each other and multiple PRC intelligence officials to communicate classified national defense information over the course of a decade. 

The scheme began with three days of meetings in Hong Kong in March 2001 during which the two former CIA officers provided information to the foreign intelligence service about the CIA’s personnel, operations, and methods of concealing communications. Part of the meeting was captured on videotape, including a portion where Ma can be seen receiving and counting $50,000 in cash for the secrets they provided.

The court documents further allege that after Ma moved to Hawaii, he sought employment with the FBI in order to once again gain access to classified U.S. government information which he could in turn provide to his PRC handlers. 

In 2004, the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office hired Ma as a contract linguist tasked with reviewing and translating Chinese language documents. Over the following six years, Ma regularly copied, photographed and stole documents that displayed U.S. classification markings such as “SECRET.” 

Ma took some of the stolen documents and images with him on his frequent trips to China with the intent to provide them to his handlers. Ma often returned from China with thousands of dollars in cash and expensive gifts, such as a new set of golf clubs.

According to court documents, in spring 2019, over the course of two in-person meetings, Ma confirmed his espionage activities to an FBI undercover employee Ma believed was a representative of the PRC intelligence service, and accepted $2,000 in cash from the FBI undercover as “small token” of appreciation for Ma’s assistance to China. 

Ma also offered to once again work for the PRC intelligence service. On August 12, 2020, during a meeting with an FBI undercover employee before arrest, Ma again accepted money for his past espionage activities, expressed his willingness to continue to help the Chinese government, and stated that he wanted “the motherland” to succeed.

Ma will make his initial appearance before a federal judge tomorrow in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. He is charged with conspiracy to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government and faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted. 

“This serious act of espionage is another example in a long string of illicit activities that the​People's Republic of China is conducting within and against the United States,” said Alan E. Kohler Jr., Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.

Korean American pastor admits to spying for US while in North Korea

SCREEN CAPTURE

Kim Dong-chul returns to the US as First Lady Melania Trump watches his response.

ASAM NEWS

US citizen Kim Dong-chul, whose release from North Korean prison was secured by Trump last year, said he had been spying for Seoul and Washington, NK News reported on Monday.

The Korean American pastor was arrested in the northeastern city of Rason in October 2015. He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor on charges of espionage and subversive acts against Pyongyang, according to The Korea Herald.

The North Korean state media at the time said Kim confessed to collecting Workers’ Party, government, and military secrets, and handing them over to South Korean intelligence.

Kim told NK News that what he said during the press conference was mostly true; he claims he had also cooperated with the US Central Intelligence Agency to procure “very significant” information on issues of interest to US intelligence.

Kim was one of three US citizens released in a 2018 amnesty secured in negotiations between the Trump administration and Kim Jong Un’s regime, a month ahead of the first summit between the two leaders in June last year, according to Newsweek.

“I filmed footage with a watch (equipped with a camera) and used electromagnetic wave wiretapping equipment,” he said earlier this month, according to NK News.

He claims US intelligence asked him to work as an “antenna” in North Korea and provide detailed information on the North Korean military and nuclear program, tasking him with recruiting double agents across the nation. He said he spied for the CIA for about six years before he was caught and sent to a labor camp.

“The CIA detected a suspicious vessel at the Rajin port through satellite imagery … and asked me to take very close-up photos of it and figured out what it was being used for … I delivered that information just before (my arrest).”

North Korean authorities said Kim was found with a USB stick containing military and nuclear secrets when he was detained in Rason, according to BBC News.

“I became a traitor overnight and was locked up in a forced labor camp,” said Kim. “I hit rock bottom.”

Kim said that in prison he was subjected to beatings by guards and other forms of torture that left parts of his body paralyzed. He also said he made a few attempts to commit suicide. “I could not die,” he recalled.

NK News said the US State Department, the CIA, and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service did not respond to requests for comments in response to Kim’s statements.

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