4 ms·

No spy plot. No popcorn. Defendant Charged with Visa Fraud Wang is charged with visa fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). If convicted, he faces a max

No spy plot. No popcorn. Defendant Charged with Visa Fraud Wang is charged with visa fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. According to court documents, Wang was still employed by the PLA while he was studying in the United States and he made false statements about his military service in his visa application in order to increase the likelihood that he would receive his J1 visa.

jonas21 6y ago
Well... we don't really know yet. They're likely charging him with visa fraud initially because it's the only thing they can prove right now, and they needed to charge him with something or he would be free to leave the country.
Jonanin 6y ago
Excuse me? This is not an accurate summary of the article at all. It's in fact exactly a spy plot: Wang was "instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China".
- HarryHirsch 6y ago
  observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China That's the purpose of a J-1 visa, isn't it? The fellow was on a scientific exchange program. It's all very mystifying what the administration is trying to signal.
  - hailwren 6y ago
    This argument was specifically addressed in the source. 'According to court documents, Wang was still employed by the PLA while he was studying in the United States and he made false statements about his military service in his visa application in order to increase the likelihood that he would receive his J1 visa.' The allegation is that he would not have been on a scientific exchange program had it been clear that it was a scientific exchange with the PLA.
    - HarryHirsch 6y ago
      The fellow did serve as an officer in the PLA and indicated as much on his visa application. Nothing would be easier for the Chinese military than to approach former officers and encourage them to join a university and apply for a scientific exchange visa in the US. If there was genuine concern the visa would have been sent to administrative processing long ago and then denied. It doesn't make sense, especially since the researcher will have shared what he did with the intelligence officer at his installation. Any officer of any country would have done that. Meanwhile the US charge him with nothing worse than visa fraud. They could at least point to the stolen IP. It's all very baffling.
      - chiph 6y ago
        He isn't a former officer. He is a current officer. Being charged with espionage is a very real possibility.
  - unishark 6y ago
    I'm guessing the J-1 application process has very specific questions designed to capture the nuanced differences between gathering info to report back to a foreign govt versus being a more typical visiting researcher. I would also guess the US government was monitoring all this guy's communications so they are fully aware of when he was up to.
godelski 6y ago
> No spy plot. No popcorn. >> Wang provided information that he was, in fact, still currently a “Level 9” technician in the PLA, employed by a military university lab. CBP officers also obtained information that this roughly corresponded with the level of Major, and that Wang had received compensation from the PLA and the China Scholarship Council—in addition to compensation from UCSF—while in the United States. >> Wang also wiped his personal phone of WeChat messaging content earlier the morning he arrived at LAX. What are you talking about? This sounds more like how they got Capone with tax evasion. >> Also according to court documents, Wang provided information to CBP that he had been instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China.
rumanator 6y ago
> No spy plot. No popcorn. It's a case of an active PLA officer trying to sneak into the US under false pretextes to infiltrate a US research institution. How is this not a spy plot?
- closeparen 6y ago
  "How to do research" isn't a state secret. Graduate programs exist for the express purpose of spreading that knowledge around. It's espionage in the sense that a number of normal behaviors are espionage when you do them as an undisclosed agent of a foreign power, but that's not the "popcorn" kind of spy.

jonas21 6y ago

Well... we don't really know yet. They're likely charging him with visa fraud initially because it's the only thing they can prove right now, and they needed to charge him with something or he would be free to leave the country.

Jonanin 6y ago

Excuse me? This is not an accurate summary of the article at all. It's in fact exactly a spy plot: Wang was "instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China".

HarryHirsch 6y ago
observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China That's the purpose of a J-1 visa, isn't it? The fellow was on a scientific exchange program. It's all very mystifying what the administration is trying to signal.
- hailwren 6y ago
  This argument was specifically addressed in the source. 'According to court documents, Wang was still employed by the PLA while he was studying in the United States and he made false statements about his military service in his visa application in order to increase the likelihood that he would receive his J1 visa.' The allegation is that he would not have been on a scientific exchange program had it been clear that it was a scientific exchange with the PLA.
  - HarryHirsch 6y ago
    The fellow did serve as an officer in the PLA and indicated as much on his visa application. Nothing would be easier for the Chinese military than to approach former officers and encourage them to join a university and apply for a scientific exchange visa in the US. If there was genuine concern the visa would have been sent to administrative processing long ago and then denied. It doesn't make sense, especially since the researcher will have shared what he did with the intelligence officer at his installation. Any officer of any country would have done that. Meanwhile the US charge him with nothing worse than visa fraud. They could at least point to the stolen IP. It's all very baffling.
    - chiph 6y ago
      He isn't a former officer. He is a current officer. Being charged with espionage is a very real possibility.
- unishark 6y ago
  I'm guessing the J-1 application process has very specific questions designed to capture the nuanced differences between gathering info to report back to a foreign govt versus being a more typical visiting researcher. I would also guess the US government was monitoring all this guy's communications so they are fully aware of when he was up to.

godelski 6y ago

> No spy plot. No popcorn. >> Wang provided information that he was, in fact, still currently a “Level 9” technician in the PLA, employed by a military university lab. CBP officers also obtained information that this roughly corresponded with the level of Major, and that Wang had received compensation from the PLA and the China Scholarship Council—in addition to compensation from UCSF—while in the United States. >> Wang also wiped his personal phone of WeChat messaging content earlier the morning he arrived at LAX. What are you talking about? This sounds more like how they got Capone with tax evasion. >> Also according to court documents, Wang provided information to CBP that he had been instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China.

rumanator 6y ago

> No spy plot. No popcorn. It's a case of an active PLA officer trying to sneak into the US under false pretextes to infiltrate a US research institution. How is this not a spy plot?

closeparen 6y ago
"How to do research" isn't a state secret. Graduate programs exist for the express purpose of spreading that knowledge around. It's espionage in the sense that a number of normal behaviors are espionage when you do them as an undisclosed agent of a foreign power, but that's not the "popcorn" kind of spy.