Last week a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator and others were convicted of acting as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provided the following synopsis of the retired police officer’s actions that led to his conviction:
“Zhu [co-conspirator] hired McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator, who obtained detailed information about John Doe #1, his wife, and his daughter [ethnic Chinese and legal residents of the U.S.] from a law enforcement database and other government databases, then reported back to Zhu and others, including a PRC police officer, what he had learned.
“McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s sister-in-law and provided Zhu and PRC officials with detailed reports of what he had observed.
“The operation was supervised and directed by several PRC officials, including co-conspirators Hu Ji, a PRC police officer with the Wuhan Public Security Bureau, and Tu Lan, a PRC prosecutor with the Wuhan Procuratorate.”
Since the retired sergeant’s arrest in November 2020, I have written a number of posts about Chinese security services using private investigators to do their dirty work.
All PIs should heed the following warning and advice from the FBI:
“FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Dennehy stated: “We hope this verdict serves as a message to other operatives in the United States working right now at the behest of the People’s Republic of China in its effort to silence those who speak out against it. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are watching, and we are taking action to stop the stalking, threatening, and repressing of dissidents.
“A specific takeaway, private investigators will face consequences if they wittingly ignore the warning signs that they may be part of a larger plot to illegally harass and coerce people by a foreign power. If you have concerns, reach out to us.”
ADDITIONAL READING
New York Times: Three Are Convicted of Harassing Family on Behalf of China’s Government
IP Probe Blog: Private Investigators are Routinely Contacted by Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to Do Their Dirty Work
IP Probe Blog: Private Investigators are Routinely Contacted by Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to Do Their Dirty Work–UPDATE
IP Probe Blog: Employment Opportunity for Private Investigators Worldwide
U.S. Department of Justice: Five Individuals Charged Variously with Stalking, Harassing and Spying on U.S. Residents on Behalf of the PRC Secret Police
U.S. Department of Justice—Eastern District of New York: Defendants Include Federal Law Enforcement Officer and Private Investigator Who Lied to FBI Agents and Obstructed Justice
New York Times: Iran and China Use Private Detectives to Spy on Dissidents in America
U.S. Department of Justice: Two Arrested for Operating Illegal Overseas Police Station of the Chinese Government
Scripps News: A look inside a suspected Chinese police outpost in the US
Safeguard Defenders: 110 Overseas Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild
Spies and Lies, by Alex Joske (2022): How China’s Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World
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