US charges 7 in alleged plot to repatriate US resident to China
- 2 Chinese nationals were arrested while 5 remain at large, in the latest case targeting Beijing’s ‘Operation Fox Hunt’ for overseas fugitives
- Lead defendant Quanzhong An is accused of harassing and intimidating a Chinese man and his son living in the US
The United States unsealed criminal charges on Thursday against seven Chinese nationals accused of waging a surveillance and harassment campaign against a US resident and his family, in a bid by the Chinese government to repatriate one of them back to China.
The eight-count indictment, unsealed in a US District Court in Brooklyn, New York, is the latest case by the Justice Department targeting China’s apparent expatriation campaign, known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
The seven individuals charged are Quanzhong An, 55, of Roslyn, New York, his daughter Guangyang An, 34, and five others still in China: Tian Peng, Chenghua Chen, Chunde Ming, Xuexin Hou, and Weidong Yuan.
The lead defendant, Quanzhong An, and his daughter were arrested on Thursday morning. The rest of the defendants remain at large. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with China.
According to the indictment, Quanzhong An is accused of working at the behest of China’s Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to harass and intimidate a Chinese man and his son living in the United States.