Chinese spying on American soil is not a distant threat, according to one of the federal government's most outspoken prosecutors. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California told Fox News Digital that Beijing's espionage in the United States is extremely widespread, adding that there is "no limit to what China is willing to do." He called it a major concern and said authorities have to stay vigilant and disrupt these operations before they take root. Essayli says China is playing the long game, pouring resources into recruiting sources inside the country, while the FBI has entire squads on the problem and his office is committed to bringing criminal charges.

He backed up the warning with a string of cases from his office this year. A woman is accused of surveilling the son of Taiwan's president in the Seattle area, allegedly traveling there at the direction of Chinese officials and sending back photos, videos, and license plate information. A man is accused of selling more than $300 million worth of servers loaded with AI chips to China through third countries, and a city mayor has pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent of Beijing. Two of those cases are still allegations headed for court, but together they paint a picture that has people asking just how deep these networks run and who else may be involved.