Oct. 24 (UPI) — U. S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday the arrest and indictment of Chinese spies accused of stealing confidential data and harassing Chinese patients living in the United States to return to China.
Garland said earlier Monday that a complaint had been filed in U. S. District Court. The U. S. Department of Defense for the Eastern District of New York accuses two Chinese intelligence officials of attempting to obstruct, influence and obstruct a criminal prosecution against a China-based telecommunications company.
“The defendants had the idea that they had recruited the American worker as an asset, but in fact, the individual they recruited was a double agent acting on behalf of the FBI,” Garland said.
Garland said the Chinese spies sought sensitive data on witnesses, trial evidence and new fees opposing the company.
“The double agent provided the defendants with documents that gave the impression of providing some of the data they were seeking. In fact, the documents were ready through the U. S. government. They did not disclose any genuine meetings, communication or strategy. “Garland said.
Dong He and Zheng Wang were charged with attempting to obstruct the prosecution of a thief.
He has also been charged with money laundering for Bitcoin bribery and faces up to 40 years if convicted.
The defendants were known as Wang Lin, 59; Bi Hongwei, age unknown; Dong Ting, also known as Chelsea Dong, 40; and Wang Qiang, 55.
The spies allegedly used a partnership with the so-called Institute of International Studies at China Ocean University as a cover.
“The indictment alleges that between 2008 and 2018, defendants used the canopy of an alleged educational institute to target, co-opt and direct in the United States to advance the intelligence mission of the People’s Republic of China,” Garland said.
Garland said the rules included attempts to buy U. S. appliances and generation. The U. S. government is sending them to China, as attempts to prevent protests in the U. S. The U. S. government, he said, “would have been embarrassing to the Chinese government. “
Separately, the Justice Department charged seven other people in New York with running on behalf of China “in a years-long crusade of threats and harassment” to force a U. S. resident to return to China.
Two of the defendants were arrested last Thursday and known as Quanzhong An, 55, and Guangyang An, 34.
The defendants, still at large, are Tian Peng, Chenghua Chen, Chunde Ming, Xuexin Hou and Weidong Yuan.
“The People’s Republic of China has a history of political dissidents and government critics who have sought relief and safe haven in other countries,” Garland said.
“The indictment alleges that defendants coming forward at the direction of the government of the People’s Republic of China engaged in a crusade of harassment, threats, surveillance and intimidation with the aim of forcing the victim to return to China. “
The victim known as John Doe in court documents.
Garland added that the defendants threatened and harassed the victim’s circle of relatives, whether in the U. S. or in the U. S. They even forced the victim’s nephew out of China to relay China’s threats to the victim’s son.
The defendants allegedly threatened the victim, saying, “Going back and surrendering is the way out. “
“They showed up at the home of the victim’s son in New York. They filed frivolous lawsuits against the victim and her son and said it would be ‘endless misery’ for [the victim] and her son,” Garland said.
“And they made it clear that their harassment would prevent until the victim returned to China. “
Monaco added that the cases “clearly show that Chinese agents will hesitate to break the law and violate foreign criteria in the process. “
“This case exposes the interconnectedness between PRC intelligence officials and Chinese corporations and demonstrates once again why those corporations, especially the telecommunications industry, cannot be trusted to securely manage our sensitive knowledge and non-public communications,” he said.
The arrests and indictments were announced a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping was sworn in for his third five-year term on Sunday.
Xi, 69, who took office in 2012, was again appointed general secretary of the Communist Party of China. Only the founder of the CCP, Mao Zedong, has already served a third term.