A Florida man has been given a prison sentence and fined $250,000 for acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The man in question, Ping Li, was given the custodial sentence, the quarter of a million-dollar fine, and must serve three years of supervised release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated Li’s case, and his sentence and fine were announced by Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch.
Florida resident sentenced and charged for PRC involvement
The Justice Department found that the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) actively collates data and information through a network of “cooperative contacts.” These contacts are based worldwide and are used by the MSS to gather intelligence about events and geopolitical climates.
Li has previously worked for a major U.S. telecommunications company and an international information technology company. He is a former PRC national and currently holds U.S. citizenship.
It was reported that Li pleaded guilty to his involvement with the PRC as an MSS agent on American soil. He was recorded saying that he “served as a cooperative contact working at the direction of officers of the MSS to obtain information of interest to the PRC government.”
In addition to admitting his part in the PRC, Li said he obtained a wide variety of information at the MSS’s request, including information concerning “Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates, members of the Falun Gong religious movement, and U.S.-based non-governmental organizations.”
The court report stated that these people further the intelligence goals of the PRC office, “which include obtaining information concerning foreign corporate or industrial matters, foreign politicians or intelligence officers, and information concerning PRC political dissidents residing in those countries.”
Li reportedly used fake accounts and emails to contact the MSS and covertly visited the PRC to check in and transfer information gathered on his employers and other geopolitical details.
In March 2015, March 2017, May 2021, March 2022, and June 2022, Li responded to MSS agents and provided requested information on selected individuals residing in the United States.
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