Two Chinese nationals, Yuance Chen and Liren Lai, have been charged with acting as agents for China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), accused of spying on U.S. Navy personnel and bases while recruiting military members to work for China’s primary foreign intelligence agency. The Department of Justice announced their arrests, with Chen apprehended in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Lai in Houston after entering the U.S. on a tourist visa in April 2025.

Both men face charges related to covert intelligence activities on American soil, including recruiting potential MSS assets and gathering sensitive information about service members and military installations. They are also accused of facilitating a “dead drop” cash payment to fund their operations.

The FBI arrested Chen and Lai on Friday with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the significance of the arrests, stating they demonstrate the agency’s dedication to national security and counterintelligence efforts against foreign espionage. Patel described the suspects as acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence service and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to preventing infiltration.

According to a criminal complaint filed in California, Lai recruited Chen in 2021 to work for the MSS. The men coordinated a cash drop in January 2022 in Livermore, California, where a backpack containing $10,000 was hidden in a day-use locker, reportedly in collaboration with accomplices.

Chen and Lai continued their intelligence activities, including visits to a Navy facility in Washington State and a recruitment center in San Gabriel, California. At the recruitment center, Chen allegedly photographed a bulletin board listing Navy recruits, many noted as being from China, and transmitted the images to MSS officers.

The complaint also details Chen’s communication with a Navy member on social media, arranging a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln and sending related information back to the MSS. Chen traveled to China twice to meet with intelligence officers and discuss compensation.

Both face charges of acting as foreign agents without notifying the attorney general, carrying penalties up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.