A Chinese citizen previously convicted of illegally acting as a foreign agent in China, has been arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Ming Xi Zhang, who owns Yaya Noodles in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, was arrested by an ICE agent in Newark on March 24th. According to Press release from ICE. Chang is currently in ice custody while awaiting immigration proceedings.
In April 2024, Chan was convicted by the US District Court for the District of New Jersey for “acting illegally as an agent of a foreign government without prior notice to the Attorney General.” Chang was sentenced to three years on probation.
“The illegal foreign command activities related to espionage, sabotage or export control against the United States are subject to deportation,” said John Tsukaris, field office director of ICE's enforcement and removal operations.
According to a press release, Zhang “legally entered the United States in June 2000,” while he “violated the terms of legal admission.”
Chan's daughter, Emily Chan, explained to NJ.com that “authors had asked her father to 'check in with them' and was arrested when he showed up.”
Emily told the outlet they were “a kind of hope, awaiting a bond” or parole, adding that “the client is supportive of the father.”
“People came in and offered phone numbers and asked how it would be useful,” Emily explained to the outlet.
According to the outlet, the “foreign agent claim” against Zhang “was born in April 2016,” and he met when he met “representatives of China's Ministry of National Security on multiple occasions in the Bahamas.”
According to his written judicial agreement, foreign agents' charges have been met on multiple occasions in the Bahamas since April 2016 by Zhang, with representatives from China's Ministry of National Security.
These agents instructed Zhang to get $35,000 and provide it to “another individual” who has not been named in the document. A month later, Chan gave cash as directed at a meeting at Skillman, a nearby Montgomery location in which his restaurant is located.
Emily Chan allegedly said her father “followed the terms of his probation and didn't get into trouble again,” adding that he was “in detention at Elizabeth Detention Center in Essex County,” according to the outlet.
