(Minghui.org) According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on July 24, a U.S. citizen who immigrated from China was recently charged with acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). If convicted, the man faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Ping Li, a 59-year-old resident of Wesley Chapel, Florida, was charged “with conspiring to act as an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without notification to the Attorney General and with acting as an agent of the PRC without notification to the Attorney General”, according to the press release.

Specifically, Li collected information of Chinese dissidents including Falun Gong practitioners, and provided them to the Chinese authorities. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division, Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch, and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement. The FBI is also investigating the case.

Court documents state the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) is in charge of civilian intelligence collection for the PRC. The MSS often works with overseas “cooperative contacts” to achieve their intelligence goals. This includes, “obtaining information concerning foreign corporate or industrial matters, foreign politicians or intelligence officers and information concerning PRC political dissidents residing in those countries.” These cooperative contacts assist the MSS in various ways, including by conducting research on topics of interest to the PRC that can be used to further the MSS’ mission.

The indictment alleges Li was a U.S. citizen who immigrated to the United States from the PRC. He previously worked for a major U.S. telecommunications company and an international information technology company.

“From as early as 2012, Li allegedly served as a cooperative contact working at the direction of officers of the MSS to obtain information of interest to the PRC government. Li obtained a wide variety of information at the request of the MSS, including information concerning Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates, members of the Falun Gong religious movement, and U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, and to report that information to the MSS,” according to the press release. “Li also provided the MSS with information obtained from his employer. Li used a variety of anonymous online accounts for the purpose of communicating with the MSS, and traveled to the PRC to meet with the MSS.”

“For example, according to the indictment, in August 2012, an MSS officer requested that Li provide information about practitioners of Falun Gong and pro-democracy advocates in the United States.” The press release continued. “Less than a week after receiving this request, Li sent the name and biographical information of an individual affiliated with Falun Gong residing in St. Petersburg, Florida.”

Furthermore, in March 2015, an MSS officer requested information from Li about branch offices that Li’s employer, a major U.S. telecommunications company, had opened in the PRC. Li provided the requested information three weeks later.