The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged seven people, including two New York residents, in relation to a plot by the Chinese regime to coerce a dissident in the United States to return to China, according to an Oct. 20 statement (pdf).
An Quanzhong, 55, and his daughter An Guangyang, 34, of Roslyn, New York, were arrested on the morning of Oct. 20, and are due to appear before the District Court for the Eastern District of New York for an arrangement in the afternoon, according to DOJ. The remaining five defendants are at large in China. Six of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to act as illegal agents for China.
The group allegedly worked at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to illegally force a Chinese national living in the United States to return to China, according to an indictment (pdf) unsealed on Thursday.
The lead defendant, An Quanzhong, allegedly acted under the direct orders of various CCP officials in order to conduct surveillance on and engage in a campaign to harass and coerce the individual back to China, as part of an extralegal effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
“As alleged, the defendants engaged in a unilateral and uncoordinated law enforcement action on U.S. soil on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China, in an effort to cause the forced repatriation of a U.S. resident to China,” Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in the statement, using the official name of communist China.
“The United States will firmly counter such outrageous violations of national sovereignty and prosecute individuals who act as illegal agents of foreign states.”
Operation Fox Hunt is a widespread effort by the CCP to locate and repatriate alleged fugitives and dissidents who have left mainland China. The regime frequently uses extralegal means, including the harassment and detention of family members, to coerce such individuals to return to China where they face punishment.
The CCP’s actions are done unilaterally, often illegally, and without any communication with or support from the U.S. government.
An FBI representative involved in the case said that the targets of this most recent effort had fled persecution in communist China.
“The victims in this case sought to flee an authoritarian government, leaving behind their lives and family, for a better life here,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said in the press release.
“That same government sent agents to the United States to harass, threaten, and forcibly return them to the People’s Republic of China. The actions we allege are illegal, and the FBI will not allow adversaries to break laws designed to protect our nation and our freedom.”
The indictment said that the efforts went back at least to 2017, and that in the early 2020s the CCP went so far as to transport a relative of the victims to the United States to personally convey the regime’s threats.
An Quanzhong, the lead defendent, allegedly told the victims that the CCP would “keep pestering you, [and] make your daily life uncomfortable,” and said that “it is definitely true that all of your relatives will be involved,” according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleged that An Quanzhong and An Guangyang engaged in a money laundering scheme. The scheme used a hotel in Queens, New York, to launder millions of dollars of funds from China into the United States in an effort to fund the CCP’s illegal activities while concealing its true origin, prosecutors alleged. Both these defendants were also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The charge of acting as an agent of the CCP carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The remaining charges, including conspiring to commit interstate and international stalking, carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
From The Epoch Times