Cult Conspiracy: US Charges Two in Plot Against Chinese Religious Group

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Two Chinese nationals allegedly acting as agents for the Chinese government were apprehended in the United States following an undercover operation and were charged with trying to damage and topple an anti-communist Chinese religious group.

Authorities in Los Angeles arrested 70-year-old John Chen and 43-year-old Lin Feng on May 26th, where they were indicted for planning to revoke the tax-exempt status of the New York-based Falun Gong spiritual movement in an attempt to further undermine the exiled group.

The two Chinese nationals were both born in China but lived in Los Angeles at the time of their arrest. Chen is a US citizen, while Feng was described as a “lawful permanent resident.” They’re facing charges of being unregistered agents of a foreign government, practicing money laundering, and bribing public officials.

Chen and Feng were caught after they initially urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revoke Falun Gong’s non-profit tax status. Chen also described the organization as a “gigantic mega cult” in his whistleblower complaint that he filed to the tax agency last February, echoing the language used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against the group.

After filing their complaint, an undercover police officer posed as an official for the IRS. According to prosecutors handling their case, Chen met with the officer at a restaurant north of New York City on May 14th.

Chen approached the officer to ensure that the agency would act on their complaint while communicating with his accomplice Feng on the progress of their plot. The undercover officer was offered a $50,000 bribe and was given $5,000 as a down payment, with the condition that the IRS conduct an audit on the organization.

Investigators wiretapped phone calls where Chen and Feng talked about the instructions they allegedly received from Beijing to undermine the religious group. The undercover officer also recorded multiple conversations with Chen during their meetings.

In one recording, Chen referred to Chinese officials as akin to “blood brothers.” In another recording, Chen said the Chinese government would be “very generous” in rewarding the help of the undercover officer in revoking Falun Gong’s tax-exempt status.

After receiving a fake IRS letterhead from the undercover officer, stating that they opened a case on the Falun Gong, Chen communicated this news to Feng in a wiretapped phone call, discussing plans to update the Chinese government.

Falun Gong initially enjoyed support from the Chinese Communist Party, but relations began to sour when state-run media began to show negative coverage of the group. The Chinese government banned the group in 1999 after 10,000 religious movement members gathered in the central government compound in Beijing to demand legal recognition.

The religious group is known for its ties with Shen Yun, a touring traditional Chinese performing arts group. It’s also notorious for its connections with The Epoch Times, a far-right, anti-communist media outlet that spread pro-Trump messages and vaccine misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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