US citizen convicted of operating ‘police station’ for China in New York

A US citizen has been found guilty of helping operate what prosecutors say was the first identified covert Chinese police station in the US, according to a statement released Wednesday by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

A jury determined that 64-year-old Lu Jianwang ran the station in Manhattan's Chinatown in early 2022 on behalf of China's Ministry of Public Security.

He was convicted of acting as an agent for the Chinese government in relation to the station, as well as obstructing justice by destroying evidence connected to the case.

The decision came after a week-long trial in federal court in New York City.

Lu, who lives in New York and is also known as Harry Lu, could face a prison sentence of up to 30 years, prosecutors said.

His co-defendant, Chen Jinping, admitted guilt in December 2024 to conspiring to act as an agent of the People's Republic of China in connection with the overseas police operation. He has not yet been sentenced.

"Lu Jianwang used a police station in New York City to target PRC dissidents in furtherance of the Chinese government's political agenda," said James C Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York office.

Lu's lawyer, John Carman, described the case as overreach by federal prosecutors, according to The New York Times.

He said Lu had merely been trying to help his fellow community members, Chinese Americans of Fujianese heritage.

"This isn't spy time," Carman said. "This isn't international espionage. This is license renewal."