World

California Judges Two Chinese Nationals to 30‑Month Prison Terms for Espionage

By AFP

Liren Lai and Yuance Chen, two Chinese men, were sentenced on Friday, October 30, 2026, to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to acting on orders from China’s Ministry of State Security. The U.S. Department of Justice said the men carried out clandestine intelligence activities in the United States, including arranging “dead drop” cash payments for information about U.S. national security. They also collected data on U.S. military personnel and installations and tried to recruit U.S. military intelligence assets. Assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division Roman Rozhavsky warned that justice would hold those who jeopardize the safety of service members, citizens, or the nation accountable. Lai, who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa, recruited Chen, a permanent resident, into the scheme and initially acted as an intermediary between Chen and intelligence officers until Chen received orders directly from his handler. The Department of Justice said the two had been working for the Chinese foreign intelligence branch since at least May 2021. They were arrested in June 2025 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as agents of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General and to act as agents of a foreign government without prior notification over the following months. Published – October 31, 2026 06:30 am IST