WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – Ping Li, 59, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Li was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
According to court documents, Li acted as a “cooperative contact” for the Ministry of State Security (MSS), China’s civilian intelligence agency. The MSS routinely uses individuals in foreign countries to collect intelligence on political dissidents, corporate matters, and other sensitive topics of interest to the PRC government.
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Li, a naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated from China, worked at times for a major U.S. telecommunications company and an international information technology firm. Starting in 2012, Li admitted to gathering and providing sensitive information to MSS officers, including details about:
- Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates.
- Practitioners of Falun Gong, a banned religious movement in China.
- Non-governmental organizations based in the U.S.
- Proprietary information from his employers.
Li’s actions were directed by MSS officers, with whom he communicated through anonymous online accounts and in-person meetings in China.
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Key incidents included:
- August 2012: Li provided MSS with the name and biographical details of a Falun Gong practitioner in St. Petersburg, Florida, just days after receiving the request.
- March 2015: Li disclosed information about the branch offices of his employer, a U.S. telecommunications company, in China.
- April 2017: Li uploaded confidential training materials to an online account shared with an MSS officer.
- May 2021: Li provided information about hacking incidents targeting U.S. companies, including a high-profile cyberattack attributed to the Chinese government.
- March 2022: Li sent details about his new employer, an international IT firm, as well as cybersecurity training materials.
- June 2022: Li responded to an MSS request by providing information about a Chinese individual who had fled to the U.S., including details about their suspected residence.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Officials emphasized the serious threat posed by foreign intelligence operations within U.S. borders.
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