When foreign agents attempt to exploit and bribe their way through the U.S. whistleblower programs, the consequences are severe. On November 19, 2024, John Chen, 71, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and attempting to manipulate the IRS Whistleblower Program to advance the Chinese government’s transnational repression campaign against Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in the PRC.

The Chinese government has labeled Falun Gong as one of the “Five Poisons,” ranking it among the top five threats to the regime. In China, Falun Gong followers face a variety of repressive and punitive actions, including imprisonment, at the hands of Chinese authorities.

At the direction of the Chinese government, from January 2023 to May 2023, Chen and his co-defendant, Lin Feng, 44, worked as unregistered agents of the PRC by filing a false IRS whistleblower complaint (the “Chen Whistleblower Complaint”) aimed at stripping the tax-exempt status of an entity run and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners, the Shen Yun Performing Arts Center. Chen and Feng then paid cash bribes and promised to offer a much larger sum to a person they believed to be an IRS agent (Agent-1), who was, in fact, an undercover officer.

On a recorded call, Chen explained the purpose of paying the bribes was to “topple” the Falun Gong, as directed and funded by the PRC. Chen and Feng talked about receiving “direction” on the bribery scheme from a PRC government official (“PRC Official-1”). Instructions from PRC Official-1 were then deleted to cover their tracks. Chen and Feng were told to “alert” PRC Official-1 if the bribery meeting with the government agent (“Agent-1”) failed.

On May 14, 2023, Chen and Feng met with Agent-1 in Newburgh, New York where they gave Agent-1 a $1,000 cash bribe as an initial payment. Chen offered to fork over $50,000 for opening an audit on the Shen Yun Performing Arts Center, in addition to 60% of any whistleblower award from the IRS if the Chen Whistleblower Complaint resulted in an enforcement action. On May 18, 2023, Feng met Agent-1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport and paid a $4,000 cash bribe to further the scheme.

On top of Chen’s prison term, Chen was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $50,000.

The government’s whistleblower programs are vital to encouraging potential whistleblowers to bring unlawful activity to light. Attempts to bribe officials or exploit these programs undermine their purpose and carry significant consequences.

If you think you have a whistleblower case or would like to learn what it means to be a whistleblower please don’t hesitate to contact us.  We will connect you with an experienced member of our whistleblower team for a free and confidential consult.

Read Do Not Mess with the IRS Whistleblower Program! An American Cautionary Tale Featuring a PRC Scheme to Topple Falun Gong at constantinecannon.com