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<\/p>\nNew York – Rashad Alkhader – Free Yemen Eye – From FBI – JUSTICE NEWS<\/p>\n
Federal Jury Convicts Three Defendants of Interstate Stalking of Chinese Nationals in the United States and Two Defendants of Acting or Conspiring to Act on Behalf of the People\u2019s Republic of China<\/p>\n
Retired NYPD Sergeant and Co-Conspirators are First Defendants Convicted After a U.S. Trial in Connection with PRC\u2019s Repatriation Program \u201cOperation Fox Hunt\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier today, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted three defendants on multiple counts of a superseding indictment charging them with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents of the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC), without prior notification to the Attorney General.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael McMahon, 55, of Mahwah, New Jersey, was convicted of acting as an illegal agent of the PRC, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking; Congying Zheng, 27, of Brooklyn, was convicted of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking; and Zhu Yong aka Jason Zhu, 66, of Queens, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of the PRC, acting as an illegal agent of the PRC, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking.<\/p>\n
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, McMahon \u2013 a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator \u2013 and Zhu knowingly acted at the direction of the PRC government officials to conduct surveillance and engage in a campaign to harass, stalk and coerce certain residents of the United States to return to the PRC as part of a global and extralegal repatriation effort known as \u201cOperation Fox Hunt.\u201d Zheng engaged in interstate stalking of the same victims, leaving a threatening note at their residence.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s verdict follows a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen. McMahon faces up to 20 years in prison, Zhu faces up to 25 years in prison, and Zheng faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendants engaged in a campaign of harassment and coercion on behalf of the PRC to force the victim\u2019s repatriation to China from the United States, including by threatening family members,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department\u2019s National Security Division. \u201cThe Department of Justice will hold accountable those who would help repressive regimes violate the fundamental freedoms of people in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe jury\u2019s verdict confirms that defendants McMahon and Zhu knowingly acted at the direction of a hostile foreign state to harass, intimidate and attempt to cause the involuntary return of a resident of the New York metropolitan area to the People\u2019s Republic of China, and that defendant Zheng harassed and intimidated that same person and his family,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. \u201cIt is particularly troubling that defendant Michael McMahon, a former sergeant in the New York City Police Department, engaged in surveillance, harassment, and stalking on behalf of a foreign power for money. We will remain steadfast in exposing and undermining efforts by the Chinese government to reach across our border and perpetrate transnational repression schemes targeting victims in the United States in violation of our laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conviction of these three defendants \u2013 including a retired NYPD sergeant \u2013 is yet another powerful reminder of the Chinese government\u2019s ongoing, pervasive, and illegal behavior here in the United States,\u201d said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI\u2019s Counterintelligence Division. \u201cAt the direction of the PRC\u2019s Ministry of Public Security, the defendants engaged in increasingly egregious efforts at repression, from stalking to outright threats and intimidation tactics undertaken at the victim\u2019s family home. This will not be tolerated within our borders, plain and simple. If you or someone you know have been targeted in this manner, we urge you to contact the FBI \u2013 and to all those engaging in such repression tactics, stand forewarned.\u201d<\/p>\n
As proven at trial, between approximately 2016 and 2019, the defendants participated in an international campaign with members of the PRC government as part of \u201cOperation Fox Hunt\u201d to threaten, harass, surveil and intimidate John Doe #1 and his family, in order to force John Doe #1 and his wife, Jane Doe #1, to return to the PRC. In or around 2015, the PRC government caused the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), an inter-governmental law enforcement organization, to issue \u201cRed Notices\u201d for John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1, alleging that both persons were wanted by the PRC government on corruption-related charges.<\/p>\n
Zhu hired McMahon who obtained detailed information about John Doe #1, his wife, and his daughter from a law enforcement database and other government databases, then reported back to Zhu and others, including a PRC police officer, what he had learned. McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1\u2019s sister-in-law and provided Zhu and PRC officials with detailed reports of what he had observed. The operation was supervised and directed by several PRC officials, including co-conspirators Hu Ji, a PRC police officer with the Wuhan Public Security Bureau and Tu Lan, a PRC prosecutor with the Wuhan Procuratorate.<\/p>\n
In April 2017, Tu Lan and Hu Ji transported John Doe #1\u2019s then-82-year-old father from the PRC to the New Jersey home of John Doe #1\u2019s sister-in-law to attempt to convince John Doe #1 to return to the PRC. The testimony established that John Doe #1\u2019s father was brought by a PRC doctor and charged co-conspirator, Li Minjun, and that while John Doe #1\u2019s father was in the United States, his daughter was threatened with jailing in the PRC. A co-conspirator conducted surveillance of the home during the visit, wearing night-vision goggles provided by the PRC doctor and the PRC prosecutor. McMahon tailed John Doe #1 from the meeting with his elderly father, back to his home, and provided John Doe #1\u2019s address \u2013 which was previously unknown \u2013 to the PRC operatives.<\/p>\n
In October 2016 and April 2017, McMahon emailed himself a China Daily News article titled \u201cInterpol Launches Global Dragnet for 100 Chinese Fugitives,\u201d which stated, \u201cAmid the nation\u2019s intensifying antigraft campaign, arrest warrants were issued by Interpol China for former State employees and others suspected of a wide range of corrupt practices. China Daily was authorized by the Chinese justice authorities to publish the information below.\u201d The article provided a list of photographs and identifying information about Operation Fox Hunt targets by the PRC government, including those of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 4, 2018, Zheng drove to the New Jersey residence of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 and pounded on the front door. He and a co-conspirator attempted to force open the door to the residence, then left a note that stated \u201cIf you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That\u2019s the end of this matter!\u201d<\/p>\n
Previously, three other defendants pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the PRC-directed harassment and intimidation campaign.<\/p>\n
Zebin pleaded guilty in March 2022 to interstate stalking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Hongru Jin pleaded guilty in June 2021 to conspiring to act as an illegal agent of the PRC and interstate stalking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Tu Lan, Hu Ji and Li Minjun are fugitives.<\/p>\n
The FBI New York Field Office investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the State Department\u2019s Diplomatic Security Service.<\/p>\n
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Heeren, Meredith A. Arfa and Irisa Chen for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christine A. Bonomo of the National Security Division\u2019s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are in charge of the prosecution, with valuable assistance provided by Paralegal Specialist Mary Clare McMahon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New York – Rashad Alkhader – Free Yemen Eye – From FBI – JUSTICE NEWS Federal Jury Convicts Three Defendants of Interstate Stalking of Chinese Nationals in the United States and Two Defendants of Acting or Conspiring to Act on Behalf of the People\u2019s Republic of China Retired NYPD Sergeant and Co-Conspirators are First Defendants …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":98027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diverse-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}