Latest news with #Liren'Ryan'Lai
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals with Attempting to Recruit US Service Members
July 1 (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with acting as agents of China's security service, accusing them of gathering intelligence about U.S. Navy bases and trying to identify Navy members willing to spy for Beijing, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. The suspects facilitated a 'dead-drop payment' of at least $10,000 in a locker at a recreational facility in Northern California in 2022 in exchange for U.S. national security information that had already been passed to Chinese intelligence, the Justice Department said. Yuance Chen, 38, a legal permanent resident living in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren 'Ryan' Lai, 39, who arrived in Houston from China in April on a tourist visa, were arrested on Friday, the department said in a statement. The pair worked on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security and made their initial appearances in federal court in Houston and Portland, Oregon on Monday, it said. The Justice Department gave no details on who provided the national security information or the military members targeted for recruitment. After the 2022 incident, the pair 'continued to work on behalf of the MSS, including to help identify potential assets for MSS recruitment within the ranks of the U.S. Navy,' the Justice Department said. 'The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme to operate on U.S. soil, utilizing spy craft, like dead drops, to pay their sources,' FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. In a statement to Reuters, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said he was not aware of the specific case but said the allegations were 'assumptions and speculations,' accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy in its global intelligence operations.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
US charges two Chinese nationals for recruiting military spies
U.S. prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with acting as agents of China's security service, accusing them of gathering intelligence about U.S. Navy bases and trying to identify Navy members willing to spy for Beijing, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. The suspects facilitated a 'dead-drop payment' of at least $10,000 in a locker at a recreational facility in Northern California in 2022 in exchange for U.S. national security information that had already been passed to Chinese intelligence, the Justice Department said. Yuance Chen, 38, a legal permanent resident living in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren 'Ryan' Lai, 39, who arrived in Houston from China in April on a tourist visa, were arrested on Friday, the department said in a statement. The pair worked on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security and made their initial appearances in federal court in Houston and Portland, Oregon on Monday, it said. The Justice Department gave no details on who provided the national security information or the military members targeted for recruitment. After the 2022 incident, the pair 'continued to work on behalf of the MSS, including to help identify potential assets for MSS recruitment within the ranks of the U.S. Navy,' the Justice Department said. 'The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme to operate on U.S. soil, utilizing spy craft, like dead drops, to pay their sources,' FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. In a statement to Reuters, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said he was not aware of the specific case but said the allegations were 'assumptions and speculations,' accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy in its global intelligence operations.
GMA Network
3 days ago
- GMA Network
US charges two Chinese in efforts to recruit US service members
U.S. prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with acting as agents of the Chinese government in efforts to recruit American service members, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. Yuance Chen, 38, a legal permanent resident living in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren 'Ryan' Lai, 39, who traveled to Houston in April on a tourist visa, were arrested on Friday, the department said in a statement. The pair made their initial appearances in federal court in Houston and Portland, Oregon on Monday, it said. The two worked on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security to facilitate a "dead-drop payment" of $10,000 cash in exchange for information related to U.S. national security, which was left in locker at a recreational facility in Northern California in 2022, it said. They "continued to work on behalf of the MSS, including to help identify potential assets for MSS recruitment within the ranks of the U.S. Navy," the Justice Department said. "The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme to operate on U.S. soil, utilizing spy craft, like dead drops, to pay their sources," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.—Reuters
