FBI Arrests Two Chinese Nationals for Spying on the U.S. Navy

 

The FBI has arrested two Chinese men on charges of spying for China's intelligence agency, including acting as recruiters and handlers for moles inside of the U.S. Navy. 

Yuance Chen, 38, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, stand accused of making a “dead drop” payment of cash for national security information; gathering intelligence about U.S. Navy servicemembers and bases; and helping to recruit other people inside the U.S. military, all on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security. 

According to charging documents, Lai recruited Chen to work for the MSS in 2021. Together, while working in Guangzhou, they remotely participated in a plot to drop $10,000 in cash at a recreational site in Livermore, California, for an undisclosed recipient. 

In 2022-23, Chen - a U.S. permanent resident, married to a U.S. citizen - was allegedly tasked with visiting a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California. His mission was to identify new Navy recruits and engage directly with future Navy Sailors, before they even entered U.S. military service. Chen also allegedly sent photos to Lai of Navy bases and ships - including carrier USS Abraham Lincoln - and videos of the interior of the recruiting station.

Lai also traveled to Houston in April-May 2025, driving out to California and then back again. 

Chen and Lai were arrested on June 27 by the FBI in sting operations in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Houston Texas, concluding a multi-agency counterintelligence investigation. The two men have been charged with acting as foreign agents without first notifying the Justice Department. The penalty is a fine of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years. 

"The PRC has for years attempted through various means to recruit U.S. service members as intelligence assets due to their access to sensitive military information,” said Omar Lopez, Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), which worked with DOJ and FBI to carry out the inquiry.