Washington, D.C. — Two Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged with espionage-related offenses for allegedly attempting to recruit U.S. Navy personnel as intelligence assets for China’s Ministry of State Security, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Yuance Chen, 38, a permanent U.S. resident living in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, 39, who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in April and was residing in Houston, were taken into custody by the FBI last Friday.
The Justice Department said both men face charges of acting as illegal agents of a foreign government, a federal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
“These arrests highlight the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate foreign actors attempting to exploit our people or institutions.”
According to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court, Lai began working for China’s Ministry of State Security in 2021 and subsequently recruited Chen to assist in gathering intelligence inside the United States. The pair are accused of engaging in covert operations that included paying cash for sensitive national security information and actively targeting U.S. Navy members for potential recruitment.
Authorities said the FBI began monitoring the men after intelligence flagged multiple suspicious contacts with military personnel. While the complaint does not identify any service members by name, officials confirmed that at least one attempted recruitment occurred on a U.S. naval base.
The charges mark the latest in a string of counterintelligence actions targeting suspected Chinese espionage activity in the United States. Officials say the arrests are part of a broader federal crackdown on foreign interference within military and research institutions.
Both defendants are being held pending detention hearings later this week. The Justice Department did not say whether additional arrests are expected but emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing.
The Chinese government has not yet commented on the case.
