US Court Sentences Two Chinese Nationals to Prison for Espionage on Behalf of Beijing
A US judge sentenced two Chinese men to 30 months in prison for spying on behalf of Beijing.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
A U.S. court in California on Friday sentenced two Chinese nationals to 30 months in prison after they pleaded guilty to working for Chinese intelligence and attempting to recruit members of the U.S. military to obtain information related to U.S. national security.
The court handed down the sentences to Liren Lai and Yuansi Chen, who will be subject to three years of supervised release following their imprisonment, after they admitted to acting under the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security.
Roman Rozhansky, Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said, “Let this sentence serve as a clear warning... If you attempt to endanger the safety and security of our military personnel, our citizens, or our nation, justice will reach you.”
The Department of Justice revealed that Lai entered the United States on a tourist visa before recruiting Chen, a lawful permanent resident, to work for Chinese intelligence.
Lai initially served as an intermediary between Chen and Chinese intelligence officers, before Chen began receiving instructions directly from his handlers.
The two were arrested in June 2025 and subsequently pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to act as agents of a foreign government and acting as such without notifying U.S. authorities, as required by law.
