Former president of the New York Shandong Association, An Quanzhong, and his daughter, An Guangyang, have pleaded guilty to involvement in the Chinese Communist Party’s “Operation Fox Hunt.” An Quanzhong admitted to acting as an illegal agent for the CCP, while An Guangyang confessed to participating in visa fraud. Additionally, there are five Chinese defendants implicated in the case who are currently on the run.
In October 2022, after the arrest of the An father-daughter duo, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York charged them with conspiring with five CCP officials to coerce a U.S. resident (referred to as JD) into returning to China. They were also accused of being involved in a money laundering scheme aimed at furthering a bank fraud project.
Following over a year of investigation, the government announced during a status conference on January 16 of this year that the investigation would soon conclude. Subsequently, the judge proposed setting the trial date for July 8. However, after intensive negotiations between the parties, the An father-daughter duo each admitted to one count of the charges before Federal Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto in the Eastern District of New York on May 28, leading to the cancellation of the trial scheduled for July 8. The judge plans to sentence the two individuals on January 14 next year.
In 2002, JD was listed as a fugitive by the CCP government for allegedly embezzling funds from a Chinese state-owned enterprise and residing in the United States. In 2014, the CCP launched the “Operation Fox Hunt” to repatriate overseas fugitives, with JD becoming a key target for apprehension. The CCP officials responsible for this case from the Shandong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection are Tian Peng, Chenghua Chen, Chunde Ming, and Xuexin Hou.
The indictment indicates that when the CCP carried out “Operation Fox Hunt” on U.S. soil, they did not obtain permission or coordination from the U.S. government. These extralegal repatriation teams resorted to tactics such as intimidation and extortion to force targeted individuals to return to China.
An Quanzhong and his daughter, An Guangyang, played vital roles in the CCP’s “persuasion for surrender” operation targeting JD in both China and the U.S. An Quanzhong, holding a U.S. green card, formerly served as the president of the Flushing Shandong Association. He conducted business investments in China, owned the “Anqiao Hotel” in Flushing, New York, and a luxury condo in Amherst. In 2017 and 2018, they attempted to contact JD’s family, even visiting JD’s son’s home in Long Island.
In November 2019, An Quanzhong arrived in New York City from Beijing and met with JD’s son two months later. He claimed to be a standing committee member of the Shandong Provincial Political Consultative Conference in China, responsible for promoting the CCP’s “rules and regulations” overseas. He expressed willingness to assist JD in returning to China, proposed to pay off the embezzled funds for JD, and guaranteed that JD would not be detained upon returning to China.
He stated that Chen Chenghua of the Shandong Discipline Inspection Commission agreed to the proposal, as long as JD returned to China to “surrender,” which would lead to the “withdrawal of civil litigation against JD and his son.” After JD’s return, he could stay at An Quanzhong’s residence. An Quanzhong also suggested a conference call with the deputy secretary of the Shandong Discipline Inspection Commission, Ming Chunde, to discuss the matter. He warned JD’s son that if JD did not return to China, they would face continued harassment, and their family members in China would be monitored.
In 2021 and 2022, An Quanzhong met JD’s son multiple times, reiterating the promise of “no detention upon return” and arranging conference calls with CCP officials to discuss the fine payment plan. He also provided contact information for another victim in Canada, implying that JD’s case might be handled similarly.
The indictment further accuses the An family and others of money laundering conspiracy. It states that since 2016, the Ans transferred millions of dollars from China to the U.S. through wire transfers, evading China’s annual $50,000 per person capital outflow restriction. They utilized fraudulent means to bypass anti-money laundering oversight by U.S. banks, allowing them to continue using U.S. bank accounts.
For instance, they transferred sums less than $50,000 from China to individuals or entities in the U.S. through third parties. These funds eventually landed in personal accounts connected to the Ans and their family. They lied to banks in the “originator to beneficiary information” (OBI) concerning wire transfers because U.S. banks regularly scrutinize transfer information to prevent illicit transactions. The co-conspirators engaged in so-called “layering transactions” involving their personal and corporate accounts. When U.S. banks inquired about the purpose of the transactions, they deceived the banks, exposing them to legal risks. These funds were used for personal and business expenses such as paying credit card debts, mortgages, hotel mortgages, and tax obligations.
On May 7 of this year, the judge dismissed the defendants’ motion to dismiss the bank fraud charges but granted their request to sever the eighth charge (another indictment). On the day of the guilty plea on May 28, the defendants’ motion to dismiss the charges related to “bank fraud” and “money laundering” in the alternative indictment was terminated due to lack of substantive meaning.
Regarding visa fraud, as per the alternative indictment to which An Guangyang pleaded guilty on May 28, she was the head of an investment group that owned the “Anqiao Hotel.” In 2020, she applied for H1-B visas for two Chinese accomplices, listing their positions as “public relations specialist” and “computer systems analyst” within this investment group. Despite the visa approvals, these two individuals never worked at this U.S.-based investment group and stayed illegally in the U.S., paying An Guangyang tens of thousands of dollars. An Guangyang fabricated false payroll documents and work records to conceal these actions and submitted forged W-2 wage forms.