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A New York man was convicted Wednesday of helping operate a secret police station linked to the Chinese government in Manhattan and used to monitor dissidents, federal prosecutors said.
Lu Jianwang, 64, a U.S. citizen also known as “Harry Lu” from the Bronx, was convicted by a jury on two counts related to operating an overseas police station in New York City on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), as well as obstruction of justice for destroying evidence.
According to prosecutors, Lu and his co-defendant, Chen Jinping, acted as illegal agents of the Chinese government beginning in 2022 and established what authorities described as the first known overseas Chinese police station in the United States.
Chen pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiring to act as an agent of the People’s Republic of China in connection with the operation.
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Lu Jianwang with his lawyer, John Carman, outside a US court in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, following his conviction for acting as an illegal foreign agent for China. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)
Prosecutors said the station operated out of an office building in Lower Manhattan, where investigators found a blue banner that read: “Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station, New York, USA.”
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr., said the conviction disrupted a Chinese government operation on U.S. soil.
“A police station operating in New York City under the direction of the Chinese government has been exposed, its sinister purpose disrupted, and its founder held accountable for blatantly ignoring the law and sovereignty of our country,” he said in a statement.
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Supporters of Lu Jianwang, also known as Harry Lu, stand outside a federal courthouse before the opening of his trial in New York, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“Our Office remains determined to protect the rights of people seeking freedom from repression and speaking out to bring democracy, reform and human rights to China,” he added.
James C. Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said the verdict should send a message to foreign agents operating in the United States.
“Let today’s verdict send a message to other foreign actors: the FBI remains unwavering in its determination to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversary nations,” he said in a statement.
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Prosecutors said the Manhattan outpost was part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to monitor and intimidate dissidents abroad, including in the United States.
According to the Justice Department, Lu collected information for the Chinese government, including helping locate a pro-democracy activist who fled China to the United States.
The FBI raided the outpost in October 2022 and confiscated Lu and Chen’s phones. Investigators later discovered that WeChat messages between the men and their interlocutor in the Chinese government had been deleted.
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Lu Jianwang waits to enter a federal court in New York, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Prosecutors said Lu admitted to FBI agents that he set up the outpost in Manhattan, communicated with its handler via WeChat and deleted the messages.
Lu spoke briefly to supporters outside the federal courthouse after the verdict, but declined to answer questions from reporters.
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His lawyer argued that the outpost functioned as a community center where Chinese residents could renew their driver’s licenses and gather socially.
“This is not espionage. This is not espionage. This is not intelligence gathering,” attorney John Carman said outside court. “He wasn’t charged with any of that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.