US sentences two Chinese nationals to 30 months for spying on military

Two citizens of China were sentenced to 30 months in prison in the United States for having engaged in espionage activities. The Chinese allegedly sought to recruit US military personnel and to establish clandestine financial transactions for confidential information.

Liren “Ryan” Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, were each sentenced to a three-year term of imprisonment and supervised release on Friday, according to the Department of Justice.

The men acknowledged they worked on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) but did not inform the US Attorney General about it, as required by law.

They participated in secret “dead drop” cash payments totalling a minimum of $30,000, court filings state. Payments of $10,000 were in 2022, and $20,000 were in 2025, court papers state.

They also acquired photographs of US naval bases, and details about military recruits and active-duty sailors. Chen obtained personal information about Navy personnel that could be approached for intelligence purposes.

“However, the effort to gather this information was vast and brazen,” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg.

The pair were arrested in June 2025 as part of an FBI counter-espionage operation. They admitted to conspiring to act as agents of a foreign government and acting as foreign agents