Defendant Zhu Yong appeared in court in New York on May 31.
According to AFP on June 21, defendants Michael McMahon (55 years old), Zhu Yong (66 years old) and Zheng Congying (27 years old) were convicted by a federal jury after a 3-week trial, according to a statement from the Eastern District Attorney of New York.
Mr. McMahon, a retired police officer and private investigator, was convicted of acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government , conspiring to stalk and stalking someone across state lines.
Defendant Zhu was convicted of three similar counts, while defendant Zheng was convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking and interstate stalking.
According to the US Attorney's Office, the two defendants, McMahon and Zhu, were directed by Chinese officials to conduct a campaign of "disturbing, stalking, and coercing" others to leave the US and return to China.
The operation is part of China's Operation Fox Hunt, which is believed to be aimed at capturing corrupt officials hiding abroad.
"We hope this sentence serves as a message to other agents in the United States who are working at the behest of China in an effort to silence those who speak out against them," FBI Special Agent James Denehy said.
US arrests 2 citizens working for China's "secret police station"
Mr. McMahon now faces up to 20 years in prison, while Zhu faces up to 25 years in prison and Zheng faces up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the operation repatriated the elderly father of one targeted man from China to the United States in an effort to force him to return. Other co-conspirators allegedly harassed the victim’s daughter and sent threatening letters to family members.
According to a report by the Safeguard Defenders group (Spain), nearly 10,000 Chinese citizens around the world have been forced to return home since 2014.
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