Chinese Official Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Attempting to Bribe IRS in Plot Against Shen Yun

November 19, 2024 TruthUSA

Prosecutors stated that the man, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has utilized the freedoms he enjoys in America to subvert the country.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—A Chinese agent who attempted to bribe the IRS and manipulate the agency to further Beijing’s transnational repression against a U.S. nonprofit has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.

U.S. citizen John Chen, 72, played a significant role in a $50,000 bribery plot orchestrated by a Chinese intelligence official to revoke the nonprofit status of New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Shen Yun has been a target of the Chinese regime, showcasing ancient Chinese culture before the communist takeover of China and shedding light on human rights violations under the regime, particularly against the Falun Gong meditation group.

Chen pleaded guilty in July after striking a plea agreement with prosecutors. He has been in detention for the past 16 months since his arrest in May 2023, and will spend an additional four months in federal custody.

He will also forfeit $50,000 and undergo three years of supervised release after completing his full prison term.

Throughout several months in 2023, Chen had been attempting to advance a fraudulent whistleblower complaint to aid the Chinese Communist Party in suppressing Falun Gong, according to court documents. Prosecutors revealed that the complaint was “facially deficient” and echoed propaganda typical of Chinese authorities.

During these discussions, Chen highlighted the financial support from Chinese leadership for the plan, according to the court filing. He was quoted in the court document stating, “After this-this-this thing is done,” indicating that rewards would be provided for the work undertaken at that time.

Chen and a co-conspirator, Lin Feng, who served 16 months in detention, paid $5,000 in cash bribes to an undercover agent posing as an IRS agent. They pledged an additional $50,000 for triggering an investigation and 60% of any rewards from the complaint if it was successful.

“A significant bribe,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lockard remarked during the sentencing hearing, noting that the undercover officer didn’t specify an amount.

“The defendant selected the sum,” he stated.

Both Chen and Lin had traveled to Orange County in upstate New York, where Shen Yun operates, to monitor Falun Gong practitioners there, as per a court document.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, emphasized that the sentencing serves as a reminder that “the U.S. justice system will hold accountable those who attempt to engage in malicious transnational repression on American soil.”

“John Chen aligned himself with the PRC government and its goals to harass and intimidate the Falun Gong, a long-standing target of PRC repression. In doing so, Chen boldly attempted to bribe an individual he believed to be an IRS agent to corrupt the administration of the U.S. tax code and pervert the IRS whistleblower program,” he mentioned in a statement on Nov. 19. “This Office will not tolerate efforts like this to repress free speech by targeting critics of the PRC in the United States.”

Chen’s son and his lawyer declined to comment after leaving the courtroom

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains on Nov. 19, 2024. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times) — U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains on Nov. 19, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Although Chen’s son, three siblings based in China, two ex-wives, and fiancée have all written letters seeking leniency and portraying him as a patriotic man, the prosecutors have a differing view.

In a memo dated Nov. 5, they argued that a 30-month imprisonment term is appropriate due to the gravity of the case and the necessity to discourage criminal behavior, “specifically in cases involving a foreign power’s repression of a marginalized group within U.S. borders.”

“The defendant does not have any mitigating motives or external factors justifying his offense,” the prosecutors emphasized, noting that Chen was “not driven by poverty, did not have a troubled upbringing,” and that there was no evidence of pressure from Chinese authorities.

The prosecutors highlighted that Chen repeatedly referred to Chinese officials as his “friends” and during the bribery scheme, he labeled them as “blood brothers” and recounted how “we”—Chen and his PRC Government friends—”initiated this struggle” against the founder of Falun Gong “twenty, thirty years ago.”

The memo displayed images retrieved from Chen’s electronic devices and online accounts of him at a major military parade in Beijing commemorating the 70th anniversary of Chinese communist rule in 2019. Another picture showed Chen shaking hands with communist leader Xi Jinping.

“Chen was extremely proud of his association with the PRC Government and, particularly, his interaction with Xi,” the memo stated, citing a recorded call where he boasted about reaching that position and how Xi had met him thrice in a decade.

In a 2020 digital resume, Chen showcased these three encounters and a photo, as outlined in the memo

Chen was in alignment with Chinese authorities in suppressing Falun Gong and “acted as a full-fledged and enthusiastic participant in the crimes,” according to prosecutors.

During the sentencing hearing, Lockard remarked that Chen, while enjoying the liberties in America, had sought to exploit these freedoms to undermine the country.

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