Overview

• Yuance Chen and Liren Lai were arrested June 27 and appeared in federal courts on July 1 and 2 after unsealed charges accused them of covertly working for China’s Ministry of State Security.
• They used dead-drop tradecraft—including a $10,000 cash handoff in Livermore, California—and conducted surveillance at a Navy base in Washington state and a recruitment center in San Gabriel, California.
• Court documents allege Chen recruited U.S. Navy personnel via social media, arranged a USS Abraham Lincoln tour in San Diego and transmitted detailed service member data to Chinese handlers.
• FBI affidavits show Chen traveled to Guangzhou in April 2024 and March 2025 to meet MSS officers and negotiate payment for intelligence-gathering tasks.
• Both men are charged under FARA and, if convicted, face fines up to $250,000 and prison sentences of as long as 10 years.