Chinese Agent Who Tried to Bribe IRS Against Shen Yun Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—A Chinese agent who attempted to bribe the IRS and manipulate the agency to further Beijing’s transnational repression against a U.S. nonprofit has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.

U.S. citizen John Chen, 72, played a significant role in a $50,000 bribery plot orchestrated by a Chinese intelligence official to strip the nonprofit status of New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Shen Yun has been a target of the Chinese regime for some time. Established in 2006, the company travels globally each year to showcase the pre-communist Chinese culture while shedding light on the human rights violations under the regime’s rule. It has frequently highlighted the ongoing persecution of the Falun Gong meditation group.

He will also forfeit $50,000 and be under three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

For several months in 2023, Chen had been attempting to push a false whistleblower complaint to aid the Chinese Communist Party in “toppling” Falun Gong, as per court documents. Prosecutors noted that the whistleblower complaint was “facially deficient” and echoed the propaganda rhetoric commonly used by Chinese authorities.

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During these conversations, Chen stressed that the Chinese leadership was “very generous” in providing financial backing for the plan, according to the court filing. The document quoted Chen as saying, “After this-this-this thing is done,” and he added, “a reward for work will surely be given at that time.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lockard described it as “a significant bribe” during the sentencing hearing, noting that the undercover officer did not specify an amount.

“The defendant chose the amount,” he stated.

Both Chen and Lin had traveled to Orange County in upstate New York, where Shen Yun is located, to monitor Falun Gong practitioners there, according to a court filing.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, emphasized that the sentencing served as a reminder that “the U.S. justice system will hold accountable those who attempt to engage in malicious transnational repression on American soil.”

Following the courtroom proceedings, both Chen’s son and his lawyer declined to provide any comments.

While Chen’s son, three China-based siblings, two ex-wives, and fiancée have all written letters asking for leniency and describing him as a man who loves America, the prosecutors disagree.

In a Nov. 5 memo, they argued that a 30-month imprisonment is warranted due to the severity of the case and the necessity to deter criminal activities, “especially in cases involving a foreign power’s repression of a disfavored group within the U.S. borders.”

“The defendant has no mitigating motives or external factors justifying his offense,” the prosecutors wrote, noting that Chen was “not motivated by poverty, he did not suffer from a troubled upbringing,” and that there was no evidence of Chinese officials’ pressure.

Prosecutors highlighted that Chen had repeatedly referred to Chinese officials as his “friends” and that during the bribery scheme, he “called them ‘blood brothers,’ and described how ‘we’—Chen and his PRC Government friends—’started this fight’ against the founder of the Falun Gong ‘twenty, thirty years ago.’”

The memo displayed photos obtained from Chen’s electronic devices and online accounts showing Chen at a major military parade in Beijing celebrating the 70th anniversary of Chinese communist rule in 2019. Another photo showed Chen shaking hands with communist leader Xi Jinping.

“Chen was extraordinarily proud of his history with the PRC Government and, in particular, his meeting with Xi,” the memo states, citing a recorded call in which he bragged that he had “climbed, climbed, climbed to this position,” and that “Uncle Xi“ met him ”three times in 10 years.”

Chen had also featured those three meetings, along with a photo, in a 2020 digital resume, according to the memo.

Chen was aligned with the Chinese authorities in suppressing Falun Gong and “acted as a full-fledged and enthusiastic participant in the crimes,” the prosecutors said.

“It was his fight,” Lockard said at the sentencing hearing, adding that Chen, while enjoying the freedoms in America, had tried to use these freedoms to undermine the country.