An owner of a Chinese restaurant in New York was arrested on July 19 for allegedly attempting to obstruct justice while his possible role as a foreign agent remains under investigation.
According to a court filing, Su Zuqi, also known as Michael Su, owns a Chinese restaurant called Jasmine in Manhattan, which is adjacent to major financial institutions, foreign embassies, and the United Nations. It is particularly close to the Chinese Mission to the United Nations.
His restaurant was even featured in a 2018 article in Chinese state-run media China Daily’s English edition, which touted that Jasmine is “popular with U.N. diplomats in Midtown Manhattan.”
Mr. Su’s business empire is not just limited to a Chinese restaurant. The FBI is currently investigating an intermediary agency that he owns, which claims to be able to help students in China gain admission to elite U.S. schools.
The court filing did not provide the name of Mr. Su’s study abroad agent. However, Aiqicha, an enterprise query app developed by China’s search engine giant Baidu, listed a Shanghai-based company, Legendary Milestone Corporation, under Mr. Su. The company also has a registered address in New York on Roosevelt Ave., Flushing.
The query app revealed that Mr. Su registered another organization at the same address, China & Africa Innovation Alliance Ltd.
Mr. Su also serves as president of the North American Chinese Technology and Industry Association (NACASTC), which is said to be one of North America’s largest academic, technological, and business organizations. Its registered address is the same as that of Jasmine, the Chinese restaurant. The latter often served as the venue for some of the events organized by NACASTC.
‘Political and Business Network’
Legendary Milestone, Mr. Su’s study abroad agency, claims on its website that it provides individualized training that shapes students into international leadership elites and facilitates priority admissions to top overseas schools.Its service also includes “background enhancement programs,” such as United Nations internships and recommendation letters written by ambassadors.
It said that the company can do such things because it “has a political and business network that is at the top of the pyramid.” It cited United Nations, the World Monetary Fund, and Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs as its cooperating organizations.
Helping Recruit Overseas Talent
NACASTC also claims to be committed to providing a full range of services to bring overseas talents to China. For example, one of its 2016 blog posts wrote about a large-scale overseas talent recruitment event coming to New York and Boston with 16 Chinese universities and a big company specializing in business and marketing among the recruiters.The post specifically made mention of the Thousand Talents Program, which seeks to entice expatriate Chinese scientists and researchers.
“Do you have a heart to serve your country even though you now reside in the U.S. imperialism? Do you feel like you have a lot of talents but feel disappointed because there is no room for you to display your talents in the United States? … Have you heard of China’s ‘Thousand Talents Program’ for top talents? Would you like to become one of those top talents?” the article said.
It has organized high-level international conferences, and some of the celebrity participants included former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, according to the post.
FBI Arrest
According to the indictment, a series of FBI actions culminated in the arrest of Mr. Su.Around May, a witness reported that Mr. Su would return to China. Before leaving, Mr. Su gave the witness two iPhones to keep, saying that he was afraid the U.S. border authorities would inspect these iPhones during border crossings, as he did not want the U.S. government to find out what was on his phones.
Upon returning to the United States on July 18 through JFK international airport, Mr. Su agreed to participate in a voluntary interview with the FBI, during which he admitted that it was fraudulent advertising when his intermediary agency promised guaranteed admission to U.S. schools.
When asked about his phones, Mr. Su claimed that other than the phone he had in possession at that moment, he did not use any other phones to conduct his business.
The witness who came to the JFK airport to retrieve Mr. Su with a car took him to a restaurant and a hotel in Flushing, Queens.
When driving to Flushing, the witness told Mr. Su that earlier that day, he/she received a grand jury subpoena, and according to the subpoena, he/she had to provide Mr. Su’s iPhones to the FBI.
Mr. Su immediately asked the witness to turn his/her phone off. Then Mr. Su repeatedly said he was in trouble, without knowing that the FBI had already equipped the witness with secret recording devices.
After checking into the hotel, Mr. Su invited the witness to his hotel room, where he instructed the witness: “If they ask you about my affairs with United Nations officials, you should say that you do not know about it.” Mr. Su indicated that he provides travel logistics to people from China, such as government officials, and his clients may include those associated with the Chinese Mission to the United Nations.
On July 19, the next day, Mr. Su went straight to JFK airport in the early morning, leaving behind all his suitcases. He had planned to flee the United States on a 10:45 a.m. flight from New York to Doha, Qatar. But FBI agents watched him overnight and obtained a warrant for his arrest before the flight took off.
Following the arrest, the FBI filed the lawsuit with the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York on July 22.
On July 31, Mr. Su secured conditional bail for $50,000 and he is now awaiting trial outside the court.
The Epoch Times has contacted Mr. Su’s attorney Jeffrey Dahlberg, Legendary Milestone Corporation, and NACASTC for comment. As of press time, Mr. Dahlberg and the two entities have not responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
