Ex-NYPD Officer Sentenced for Role in China's Global Repatriation Effort

Retired NYPD sergeant Michael McMahon was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $11,000 for acting as an unregistered agent of China and participating in Operation Fox Hunt, a covert effort to force a Chinese national residing in the US to return to China. McMahon, working as a private investigator, surveilled and harassed the target and his family between 2016 and 2019, delivering their location to Chinese operatives and facilitating intimidation tactics. The operation, defended by Beijing as an anti-corruption campaign, is described by US authorities as a clandestine effort targeting dissidents and opponents of the Chinese government. McMahon was convicted of acting as an illegal agent of China and interstate stalking, though acquitted of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. His co-defendants, Zhu Yong and Congying Zheng, received sentences of 24 and 16 months respectively. US officials have criticized the operation for violating American sovereignty and legal norms.