Two Chinese nationals were sentenced to 30 months in prison by a United States court on Friday following their conviction for acting as unregistered agents of the Chinese government. Liren “Ryan” Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, received the sentences alongside three years of supervised release, according to an official statement from the US Department of Justice.
The sentencing follows the guilty pleas of both men, who were initially arrested and charged in June 2025. According to court records, the duo participated in an extensive scheme aimed at undermining American national security by supporting Chinese intelligence operations. The Department of Justice described the activities as a "long-running" and "brazen" effort to recruit US military personnel to act as informants for Beijing.
Investigations revealed that the pair began operating as agents for China's Ministry of State Security no later than May 2021. Lai, who entered the United States on a tourist visa, reportedly recruited Chen, a permanent resident, into the operation. While Lai initially acted as a liaison between Chen and his handlers, the latter eventually began receiving instructions directly from Chinese intelligence officials.
The espionage activities included the facilitation of "dead drop" cash payments, a method used to pass funds without direct contact. Court documents detail two specific instances of such transactions, totaling $30,000. In May 2022, the men coordinated a $10,000 payment, which was left at a designated location for collection. A subsequent operation involved the transfer of an additional $20,000 using similar clandestine protocols.
Beyond the financial facilitation, the investigation uncovered other espionage tactics employed by the pair. Chen was found to have collected personal biographical data on US military personnel who were identified as potential intelligence targets. Additionally, the duo obtained photographs of active-duty sailors, military recruits, and a naval facility, further escalating the severity of their intelligence-gathering efforts.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg condemned the actions, stating that the men sought to trade national security information for cash. While the Department of Justice confirmed these incidents, officials did not provide a total count of how many payments were facilitated or how many individuals were successfully recruited during the course of the operation.
The case underscores the persistent friction regarding intelligence activities between the world’s two largest economies. In late August, President Donald Trump addressed the broader context of such operations, acknowledging that while China engages in espionage against the United States, the US similarly conducts intelligence work against China. The legal resolution of this case follows a broader trend of heightened scrutiny toward foreign intelligence threats within the United States.
Tensions surrounding espionage allegations remain a point of contention internationally. For instance, in June 2026, Chinese authorities announced the arrest of a US citizen on espionage charges, occurring shortly after reports surfaced regarding the detention of a dual US-Myanmar national. As the case of Lai and Chen concludes, the sentencing serves as a significant marker in the ongoing US efforts to prosecute individuals acting on behalf of foreign intelligence services without proper notification to the Attorney General.
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