Bergen County Man, Retired Cop, Stalked NJ Family For Foreign Government

MAHWAH, NJ — A Mahwah man who became a private investigator after retiring from the New York Police Department was sentenced recently for helping representatives of the Chinese government stalk a family in the U.S., prosecutors said.

Michael McMahon, 57, a retired NYPD sergeant, was convicted of interstate stalking after a U.S. trial, along with two co-conspirators, said the Justice Department.

Prosecutors said that between 2016 and 2019, McMahon and two co-conspirators "participated in an international campaign to threaten, harass, surveil, and intimidate John Doe #1 and his family in order to force him and his wife, Jane Doe #1, to return to the People's Republic of China to face purported corruption charges."

Prosecutors said that McMahon was hired by co-defendant Zhu Yong, 68, of East Elmhurst, N.Y. to locate John Doe #1, who was trying to keep his and his wife's address out of public records. The Chinese government had targeted the pair for "repatriation," prosecutors said, as part of China's programs called "Operation Fox Hunt" and "Operation Sky Net."

China's government claims their international dragnet is meant to bring back people accused of financial crimes, but some say it's meant to catch whistleblowers and dissidents.

Prosecutors say that McMahon obtained sensitive information about John Doe #1, which he then reported back to Zhu and others, including to a People's Republic of China police officer. McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s relative and provided Zhu and Chinese officials with detailed reports of what he observed, say prosecutors.

Prosecutors say that McMahon knew that the operation was intended to find and coerce Doe to return to China "by exerting pressure on his family members."

Tracked Ailing Father To NJ Home

In fact, according to prosecutors, in April 2017, People's Republic of China officials threatened to jail John Doe #1’s sister, who still lived in that country, in order to coerce John Doe #1’s then-82-year-old father to travel from China to another relative's home in New Jersey.

The father did travel to New Jersey, but he had recently suffered a brain hemorrhage and "was so frail that a doctor accompanied him for the trip," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say that McMahon followed John Doe #1’s father when he visited the relative's home, and tracked him to John Doe #1's address.

Prosecutors say that on Sept. 4, 2018, co-conspirator Congying Zheng, 29, of Brooklyn, and another co-conspirator drove to the New Jersey residence of John and Jane Doe – at the address that McMahon had provided. Then, they pounded on the front door, tried to break in, and peered through windows, investigators say.

They left a note on the front door informing John Doe #1 that his “wife and children will be okay” if John Doe #1 surrendered himself to face a 10-year prison term in China, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors said McMahon acknowledged knowing that his employers wanted to get the victim back to China “so they could prosecute him.”

Prosecutors said that McMahon had joked about the matter in a text with his surveillance partner. Prosecutors say that McMahon told a partner that he was “waiting for a call” to find out what to do next, and the partner responded, “Yeah. From NJ State Police about an abduction,” to which McMahon responded “LOL.”

Suggested Harassment

McMahon later suggested to a co-conspirator, according to federal prosecutors, that they “harass” John Doe #1 by parking outside his home to let him know they were there.

McMahon also researched where Doe's daughter attended college and what her major was, prosecutors say.

McMahon was paid more than $19,000 for his work, prosecutors said, and he put the money into his son's bank account.

McMahon was sentenced last Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay an $11,000 fine "for acting as an
illegal agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit the same," said federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors said, "The FBI has created a website for victims to report efforts by foreign governments to stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States. If you believe that you are or have been a victim of transnational repression, please visit the FBI’s website."