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A Florida IT worker who admitted to acting as a "cooperative contact" for the Chinese government was sentenced Monday to four years in prison, federal authorities announced.

Fla. IT Worker Gets 4 Years In Chinese Spying Case : Four-Year Sentence for Ping Li

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday handed down a 48-month prison sentence to Ping Li, 59, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen from Wesley Chapel, Florida. In addition to the prison term, Li will serve three years of supervised release and must pay a $250,000 fine. The judgment also bars him from employment granting access to sensitive government information after his release. Li pled guilty in August to conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent for China, acknowledging that he secretly worked for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) for over a decade, gathering information on U.S. telecommunications companies and Chinese democracy advocates.

Feeding Information to China’s Intelligence Agency

Prosecutors alleged that Li's relationship with the MSS began in 2012 when he was asked to collect data on the Falun Gong religious movement, banned in China, and pro-democracy activists in the U.S. Li admitted to providing the MSS with biographical details and names of individuals associated with these groups. Li’s espionage expanded in 2015 when his MSS handler, a childhood friend, sought insights into Li’s employer, described in court documents as a major U.S. telecommunications company. The handler also requested information about U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their operations, including an unnamed environmental group active in Southeast Asia. While much of the information Li provided was publicly available, prosecutors emphasized the gravity of his role in aiding a foreign intelligence service.

Legal Arguments and Sentencing

Li’s defense argued for leniency, asserting that he was unpaid for his work, did not directly support the Chinese government, and cooperated with law enforcement after his arrest. Defense attorney Daniel J. Fernandez claimed Li only shared information available through basic online searches and argued his conduct was less severe than that of others charged with similar crimes. Prosecutors, however, requested a four-year sentence and a $250,000 fine, citing the need to deter others from aiding foreign adversaries. Judge Merryday ultimately sided with the government’s recommendation, setting Jan. 8, 2025, as Li’s prison reporting date. "This sentence is essential to reflect the gravity of the defendant's offense," prosecutors said in their sentencing memo, adding that Li’s actions undermined U.S. security interests.

Fla. IT Worker Gets 4 Years In Chinese Spying Case : Defense Reaction

Fernandez maintained that the outcome was fair but reiterated his belief that Li’s actions warranted a lighter sentence. "Mr. Li acknowledges that he provided information readily available on a simple Google search to a childhood friend that he knew worked for the intelligence arm of the People’s Republic of China," Fernandez said. He expressed gratitude for the resolution and predicted Li would serve less than 48 months.