A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison for spying for China.
Xuehua (Edward) Peng was convicted of delivering classified United States national security information to the communist nation’s Ministry of State Security.
The resolution of the case against was announced Tuesday by the Justice Department after the sentencing in court in California.
He also was fined $30,000.
Peng picked up Secure Digital cards, or SD cards, from a “dead drop” by a “source” in the U.S. and then delivered them to China.
It’s one way that China has stolen highly sensitive information from the United States.
“This case exposed one of the ways that Chinese intelligence officers work to collect classified information from the United States without having to step foot in this country. Peng acted as an agent of the Chinese Ministry of State Security in the United States, conducting numerous dead drops here on their behalf and delivering classified information to them in China,” said John C. Demers, an assistant attorney general.
“He pled guilty and is now being held accountable for his criminal actions and his betrayal of his oath of citizenship. This case is but one example of the Chinese government’s multi-faceted espionage efforts and it both illustrates our determination to thwart those efforts and serves as a warning to other potential co-optees that we will find you and ensure you are punished.”
Authorities said Peng “compromised” the security of the U.S. with his actions.
“This sentence serves as a powerful deterrent to both Communist China, who will continue to attempt to recruit others to act on its behalf, and those who attempt to carry out such tasks at the direction of its intelligence services,” said FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. “These actions are illegal and inexcusable. By working jointly with our partners, we will never stop our fight against hostile intelligence services and our determination to protect the national security of the United States should never be in doubt.”
Peng, 56, said when he pleaded guilty a few months ago he was acting at the direction and under the control of Chinese agents to retrieve the “classified” information and take it to China.
His began working as a spy in 2015 and was arrested last year.
According to court documents, Peng participated in five dead drops of cash and/or pick-ups of SD cards after a practice run in June 2015.
“After he participated in two dead drops in the San Francisco Bay Area between October 2015 and April 2016, Peng began making dead drops in Columbus, Georgia. After three dead drops in Georgia, Peng informed the PRC official that he wanted to resume dead drops in the San Francisco Bay Area. Peng did not complete a seventh dead drop before his arrest by federal authorities in September 2019,” authorities said.
People who are acting inside the United States on behalf of foreign governments must file a notice with the attorney general, and Peng never did, authorities said.
He confessed he was paid at least $30,000 for his work.
The sentence is from U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam.
