Officials say two Nassau County residents have been arrested and
are accused of acting as illegal agents from China who participated in an
international scheme to coerce a United States resident to return to China.
An eight-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in
Brooklyn charging a total of seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China,
including Quanzhong An, 55, of Roslyn, and Guangyang An, 34, of Roslyn.
The two are charged with participating in a scheme to cause the
forced return of a People’s Republic of China national residing in the United
States.
Officials say the lead defendant, Quanzhong An, allegedly acted
at the direction and under the control of various officials with the People’s
Republic of China to conduct surveillance of and engage in a campaign to harass
and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the People’s Republic of China as part
of an international extralegal return effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
“As alleged, the defendants engaged
in a unilateral and uncoordinated law enforcement action on U.S. soil on behalf
of the government of the People’s Republic of China, in an effort to cause the
forced repatriation of a U.S. resident to China,” stated United States Attorney
Breon Peace. “The United States will firmly counter such outrageous violations
of national sovereignty and prosecute individuals who act as illegal agents of
foreign states.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Internal
Revenue Service Criminal Investigations for its work on the case.
“The victims in this case sought to
flee an authoritarian government, leaving behind their lives and family, for a
better life here. That same government sent agents to the United States to
harass, threaten, and forcibly return them to the People's Republic of China.
The actions we allege are illegal, and the FBI will not allow adversaries to
break laws designed to protect our nation and our freedom,” stated FBI
Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll.
Officials say Quanzhong An, who is a
businessman operating in Queens and the majority shareholder of a hotel in
Flushing, acted as the primary U.S.-based liaison.