Fox News reported on June 1 that Chinese citizens Yuance Chen and Liren Lai were suspected of collecting intelligence on U.S. naval bases and officers for China’s Ministry of State Security. They were arrested by FBI agents in Happy Valley, Oregon and Houston, Texas on June 27, respectively. Both were charged with engaging in secret espionage activities. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) also joined the arrest operation. If convicted, they will be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 yuan.
According to the investigation by the Ministry of Justice, Yuance Chen and Liren Lai collected intelligence on U.S. naval bases and naval officers for China’s Ministry of State Security as agents of the Chinese government, attempting to recruit U.S. military personnel to assist in espionage.
The Ministry of Justice pointed out that Yuance Chen lived in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai arrived in Houston after entering the country with a visa in April this year. In addition to being charged with engaging in secret espionage as agents of a foreign government, the two are also accused of using “dead drops” to complete cash payments on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
Records from the Northern District of California Federal District Court show that the evidence submitted in the Department of Justice’s criminal complaint includes a photo of Chen Yuanze and others visiting the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in January this year.
The complaint states that Lai Liren recruited Chen Yuanze to work for the Chinese Ministry of State Security in 2021, and the two went to Guangzhou together in January 2022 to help the Chinese Ministry of State Security complete a “dead drop” mission of at least $10,000 in cash payments. The mission was to leave a backpack containing cash in a locker for the public to use for a single day in Livermore, California. Photos of the gray backpack taken by federal investigators and photos of the seized cash are attached to the criminal complaint.
According to the investigation by the Department of Justice, after the “secret delivery” mission, Chen Yuance and Lai Liren continued to cooperate to help the Chinese Ministry of State Security find active-duty U.S. Navy officers willing to help join the spy work.
The Department of Justice pointed out that in 2022 and 2023, Chen Yuance and Lai Liren visited the naval base in Washington State and the Navy Recruiting Center in San Gabriel, California. At the Navy Recruiting Center, Chen Yuance took a photo of the list on the bulletin board. The list contained the names, training items, hometowns and other information of the navy recruits. The hometowns of most of the recruits on the list were marked as “China”. According to the investigation by the Department of Justice, the photo of the list taken by Chen Yuance was later passed to an intelligence officer of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
The Department of Justice pointed out that Chen Yuance later contacted a naval personnel through social media and was arranged to visit the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier in San Diego; in April 2024 and March 2025, Chen Yuance went to Guangzhou twice to discuss the remuneration price for completing special tasks with intelligence officials of the Ministry of State Security.
The indictment stated that when Lai Liren entered the country in April, he claimed that he was going to Houston for his personal business in the online retail industry and expected to stay in the United States for only two weeks. However, four weeks after arriving in the United States, he drove from Houston to California with another person on May 9 and returned to Junction, Texas on May 15.
