Singapore Citizen Pleads Guilty to Being Illegal Agent of Chinese Gov't, US Justice Dept. Says

Sputnik News

18:33 GMT 24.07.2020

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A Singaporean national pleaded guilty on Friday to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, the US Justice Department said in a press release.

"Jun Wei Yeo, also known as Dickson Yeo, entered a plea of guilty today to one count of acting within the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the Attorney General, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 951," the release said.

The Justice Department said in the release that Yeo began to work with Chinese intelligence officers as early as 2015.

The Chinese handlers tasked Yeo with getting non-public information from Americans, including US military and government employees with high-level security clearances, it said.

The Justice Department noted that Yeo could face up to ten years in prison.

On Thursday, the US government charged four individuals with visa fraud in connection with a scheme in which they also lied about their connection to China's People's Liberation Army.

© Sputnik