McMahon convicted for acting as Chinese agent without notifying US atty general

17/4/2025 6:22

A former New York City police sergeant was sentenced

to 1-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday over his 2023 conviction

for acting as an illegal Chinese agent.

Michael McMahon was charged with being hired as a private

investigator to surveil a New Jersey resident who was accused by

China of corruption, as part of a global campaign by Chinese law

enforcement to repatriate alleged criminals living abroad, known

as "Operation Fox Hunt."



A federal jury in Brooklyn found McMahon guilty of

interstate stalking and of acting as an agent of China without

notifying the U.S. attorney general. The jury found him not

guilty of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. McMahon had

pleaded not guilty to all charges.



“McMahon, a former law enforcement officer who swore an oath

to protect the public, went rogue and dishonorably engaged in a

scheme at the direction of the People’s Republic of China," John

Durham, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a

statement.



McMahon said he thought he was working for a company seeking

to recover embezzled funds, and would not have taken the job if

he knew the Chinese government was behind it.



"I was unwittingly used," he said in court.

McMahon was convicted amid a broader push by former Democratic

President Joe Biden's administration to crack down on what it

termed transnational repression, or the intimidation and

harassment by authoritarian U.S. adversaries such as China or

Iran of dissidents on U.S. soil.

Republican President Donald Trump's administration, however, has

signaled it will scale down criminal enforcement of U.S. foreign

influence laws.

During her first day on the job in February, Attorney General

Pam Bondi said prosecutors would bring criminal cases only when

conduct resembles "more traditional espionage," focusing on

civil enforcement instead in other scenarios.



In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Pamela

Chen said changes in prosecutorial priorities had no impact on

her decision.



"The law is the law," the judge said.

McMahon had secured the support of two Republican U.S.

Representatives, Michael Lawler of New York and Pete Sessions of

Texas. Last year, the two congressmen wrote Chen a letter urging

her to spare McMahon prison time, citing his service as a police

officer and dedication to his family.



Two of McMahon's co-defendants, Yong Zhu and Congying Zheng,

were sentenced to two years and 1-1/3 years in prison,

respectively.