A former New York police officer and two Chinese nationals have been charged with trying to intimidate a Chinese dissident and his family in the United States, in the first federal trial in Brooklyn of an allegedly coordinated attempt by Beijing to forcibly deport citizens.
Retired NYPD Sergeant Michael McMahon, a private investigator, along with Yong Zhu of Queens and Congying Cheng of Brooklyn, was directly or indirectly “instructed by Chinese government officials to home,” the alleged victim, Assistant New Jersey U.S. Attorney Irisa Chen, said in her opening statement Wednesday.
Zheng drove to the property in September 2018 and posted a handwritten note that read: “If you are willing to return to your home country and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be safe and sound, Chen said, adding that Zheng’s fingerprints were found on the leaflet.
The trial, which will last up to three weeks, could set an important precedent for other cases brought by the Justice Department as it intensifies its crackdown on the Chinese government, dubbed Operation Fox Hunt, which Beijing says aims to repatriate fugitives.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said China “has a history of targeting dissidents and government critics who seek relief and refuge in other countries”. FBI Director Christopher Wray defined Operation Fox Hunt as “part of a broad range of theft and malign influence activities by the Chinese government.”
The defendants, who are on trial in Brooklyn, were originally indicted in 2020. Prosecutors said the Chinese government relied on McMahon’s help to find the alleged victim’s address and told jurors the former police officer tailed him home after a meeting with the dissident’s elderly father, who had He was allegedly flown from China in an attempt to lure him to a specific location where he could be tracked.
McMahon’s attorney, Lawrence Lustberg, said his client was a “hero cop” who “didn’t know he was working for China” and believed he was employed by a Chinese construction company, And the company was a victim of embezzlement.
Zhu’s lawyer, Kevin Dong, said his client believed he was helping to recover “private debts” when he was actually “being used by the Chinese government”.
Cheng’s attorney, Paul Goldberg, said his client “just drove to New Jersey and put a note on the door,” which he returned to remove.
He added that the 27-year-old was never told anything that “leads him to believe that at any point he was working for the Chinese government”.
If convicted, the defendants — each facing four charges — face up to 10 years in prison.
In another Fox Hunt-related case, the Justice Department charged seven Chinese nationals in October with conspiring to forcibly deport a Chinese national from the United States, alleging they had harassed the U.S. resident and his relatives for years. Authorities also allege the Chinese government “harassed” the targets by filing a lawsuit in New York state court alleging they embezzled funds from their former Chinese employers.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment at the time.