Former and present DHS agents were accused on Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring with the Chinese government to target, harass, and surveil Chinese dissidents in the United States.
After 15 years of service at DHS, Craig Miller and Derrick Taylor have been indicted for allegedly giving information about Chinese activists to two other people who then used the records to target their victims. The indictment was returned on Wednesday and names both Miller and Taylor as co-conspirators.
A sting operation in June resulted in the arrests of Miller and Taylor. One case of obstruction of justice is filed against each. Taylor is also accused of lying to the FBI throughout the inquiry.
There was no response from a DHS representative when asked for comment.
In addition to Fan “Frank” Liu, Matthew Ziburis, and Qiang “Jason” Sun, the three individuals accused in the case allegedly carried out “the transnational repression program to target U.S. persons whose political opinions and conduct are disfavored” by the Chinese government, the Justice Department stated.
It is alleged that they conspired to engage in interstate harassment and unlawful use of a method of identification, among other counts. The Justice Department has accused Liu, Ziburis, and Sun with operating as agents of the Chinese government, while Liu and Sun are charged with conspiring to bribe a federal official.
In March, police detained Liu and Ziburis. Sun, a Chinese national accused of masterminding the plot, is still at large.
Mr. Olsen, who is the assistant attorney general for national secuAccording to the indictment city, said, “We will defend the rights of Americans to free speech and political expression, even viewpoints the PRC in a statement. They are accused of helping foreign government operatives repress opposing voices that have sought asylum in this country.
New York, San Francisco, and Indiana were the target of the conspiracy to “discredit” pro-democracy Chinese dissidents, according to the indictment.
Liu reportedly hired a private investigator in New York to bribe an IRS agent into disclosing a dissident’s federal tax information. The purpose was to defame the victim by making public information about his alleged tax debts. The endeavor was a failure. No bribe was given to the private investigator who was working with the police.
They were also accused of plotting to demolish a Chinese-American artist’s artwork critical of the Chinese government. In the spring of 2021, a dissident artist smashed a sculpture representing Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “coronavirus molecule.”
As part of a plan to target dissidents, an anonymous co-conspirator reportedly hired Taylor, the retired DHS agent, to gather sensitive personal data about various Chinese activists.
Miller and another DHS agent assisted Taylor in obtaining the documents, which he gave to the co-conspirator.
According to the accusation, “Liu, Ziburis, and Sun exploited this information to target and harass PRC dissidents while operating where they live.
Chinese Embassy spokeswoman Liu Pengyu responded to a VOA request for comment through email.
“What exactly is going on here is beyond my knowledge. China consistently requests its nationals living abroad to abide by the rules and regulations of the country in which they are living. We strongly reject any U.S. actions that maliciously slander and harm China “he stated.
