United States prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with acting as agents of China’s security service. FBI Arrests Two Chinese Nationals Charged With Acting As Foreign Agents
Heather Mongilio
July 1, 2025 7:42 PM
The FBI arrested two Chinese nationals last week on a charge of acting as a foreign agent without proper notification.
Yuance Chen, 38, a Chinese national living in the U.S. as a conditional permanent resident after his marriage to his wife, who is not named in charging documents, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, a Chinese national who arrived in April on a visitor visa, appeared in court Monday, according to a Department of Justice release.
The FBI arrested Chen and Lai Friday based on a criminal complaint that charges the two of them with carrying out or overseeing intelligence activities on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security, according to the release.
According to the criminal complaint, Chen and Lai facilitated a “dead drop” payment, gathered intelligence on the U.S. Navy and assisted with China’s Ministry of State Security recruiting efforts of U.S. service members.
The specific charge is acting as a foreign agent without notifying the attorney general, as the DoJ alleges that neither Lai nor Chen notified the attorney general that they were working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security.
“Title 18, United States Code, Section 951 provides that ‘[w]hoever, other than a diplomatic or consular officer or attaché, acts in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General if required,’ shall be punished,” reads the charging documents.
Lai allegedly recruited Chen to be a Ministry of State Security operative, asking if Chen was either in the U.S. military in an active duty or reserve capacity, according to the complaint.
While in China, Lai and Chen allegedly directed Chen’s unnamed wife and another person to conduct a dead drop. It’s not clear whether the FBI has also charged Chen’s wife. Lai and Chen also spoke with the MSS about recruiting sailors, according to the charging documents.
Chen also allegedly provided pictures of U.S. Navy bases and ships. Chen sent Lai videos taken inside a U.S. Navy recruiting station, including one while discussing joining the Navy in both English and Chinese, the filing alleges.
“These charges reflect the breadth of the efforts by our foreign adversaries to target the United States — this time by conducting illegal intelligence-gathering operations aimed at our national security information and military service members,” U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian for the Northern District of California said in the DoJ release. “My office and the FBI remain ever vigilant in guarding against these threats to the United States. We will continue to undertake counterespionage investigations and prosecutions, no matter how complex and sensitive, to disrupt attempts to weaken our national security.”
