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Ex-New York policeman, 2 Chinese citizens found guilty of conspiracy in landmark US federal trial

  • Defendants await sentencing in case involving a suspected Beijing-backed operation aimed at repatriating wanted Chinese fugitive living in New Jersey
  • Prosecutors said Beijing hired American private investigator Michael McMahon to help find Xu Jin, a former Wuhan senior official

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Michael McMahon (left) with his wife, son and lawyers after the verdict was delivered in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Mark Magnier
Mark Magnierin New York

A jury found a former New York City police sergeant and two Chinese citizens guilty on nine counts on Tuesday in a landmark federal trial involving a suspected Beijing-backed operation aimed at repatriating a Chinese fugitive living in New Jersey.

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Charged in the nearly three-week trial were former police officer-turned-private investigator Michael McMahon and two Chinese citizens – New York residents Zhu Yong, 66, and Zheng Congying, 27 – for involvement in a three-year repatriation and intimidation effort against a Chinese fugitive on US soil.

All three were found guilty of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking. McMahon and Zhu were also found guilty on charges of acting as unauthorised agents of a foreign government.

“I did everything by the book,” McMahon said outside the courtroom. “This is outrageous. What happened? Absolutely outrageous.”

Trial begins for 3 suspected Chinese agents accused of harassing US-based fugitive

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date on the charges involving conspiracy, stalking and acting as unauthorised Chinese agents. Zhu faces up to 25 years behind bars, McMahon 20 years and Zheng 10 years.

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The case, heard by Judge Pamela Chen in the Eastern District of New York, is the first of several to come to trial involving alleged Operation Fox Hunt victims as the US Justice Department targets “transnational repression” by American adversaries, including China, against dissidents and fugitives.
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