From Fox News: Two Chinese nationals face serious charges after they allegedly acted as agents of the People’s Republic of China’s government to collect intelligence about U.S. Navy service members and bases, while also recruiting other military members to carry out tasks for the country’s main foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Chinese national Yuance Chen, who resides in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who traveled to Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested on Friday. Both individuals face charges of overseeing and carrying out various clandestine intelligence tasks in the U.S. on behalf of the Ministry of State Security.
Along with assisting with the recruitment of potential MSS assets and gathering intel about service members and bases, the two men are accused of facilitating a “dead drop” payment of cash on behalf of the MSS.
The FBI arrested both men on Friday – Chen was arrested in Happy Valley while Lai was arrested in Houston – with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
According to a criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of California, Lai recruited Chen to work for the MSS in 2021, while the two were still in China. Over the years, they also worked to identify individuals in the U.S. Navy who might be willing to work with the MSS as well.
Lai and Chen both reportedly visited a U.S. Naval installation in Washington State and a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California over the period of 2022 to 2023. At the recruitment center, they took photos of a bulletin board that listed the names, programs and hometowns of Navy recruits – especially those whose hometown was listed as “China.”
Justice Department Charges Two Individuals with Acting as Agents of the PRC Government
Arrests Disrupted Clandestine PRC Ministry of State Security Intelligence Network Operating in the United States
🔗: https://t.co/Q4gssLrhlX pic.twitter.com/RLMiSRsJck
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) July 1, 2025
Justice Department Charges Two Individuals with Acting as Agents of the PRC Government https://t.co/84kWWYdeXZ@FBISanFrancisco @FBISanDiego @FBIPortland @FBIHouston pic.twitter.com/Z0OAbuGvSl
— FBI (@FBI) July 1, 2025
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