Free Republic

China has executed 11 members of a notorious Myanmar mafia family that was infamous for duping victims in fake online romances. The Ming crime family was sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, with the same court also carrying out the executions on Thursday. Residents in the UK and the US have fallen victim to similar, sophisticated schemes, after being lured into romantic relationships that resulted in the loss of large amounts of cash. The clan members were executed for crimes including 'intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment',...

Criminal associates of Chen Zhi who surrender before Feb 15 and "truthfully confess their crimes" could be eligible for "lighter or reduced sentences", China's Ministry of Public Security said.China called on Thursday (Jan 15) for criminal associates of accused scam boss Chen Zhi to surrender voluntarily in return for lighter sentences, after their alleged ringleader was extradited from Cambodia. Chen has been indicted by the United States on fraud and money-laundering charges for allegedly running a multibillion-dollar cyberscam network from Cambodia. Beijing has also called Chen "the ringleader of a major cross-border gambling and fraud criminal syndicate", and Cambodia deported...

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Oct. 15 that the agency is cracking down on espionage by foreign adversaries, with an increase in arrests as high as 50 percent. “We have gone after espionage activities against our main counterparts in China, Russia, and Iran,” he said at a press conference. “In China alone, we’ve had over a 50 percent increase in espionage arrests alone, and prosecutions,” Patel said. “In Iran, we have had a 50 percent increase, again, in espionage cases. And in Russia, we had a 33 percent increase in espionage cases alone.” State Department employee Ashley Tellis, arrested...