Members of Congress are sounding the alarm over what they describe as an expanding network of pro-Chinese Communist Party influence operations inside the United States, centered around billionaire businessman Neville Roy Singham and a sprawling web of activist nonprofits accused of spreading anti-American and Marxist propaganda.
The growing controversy follows a Fox News Digital investigation that traced roughly $278 million flowing through organizations connected to Singham since 2017. Lawmakers now say the network raises serious national security concerns, particularly because many of the groups involved allegedly participate in domestic protests and political activism while promoting rhetoric favorable to authoritarian regimes including Communist China.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., warned that China increasingly uses nonprofit organizations as influence vehicles inside the United States.
“When you talk about the non-profits, you have to look at how China adversely uses or how China uses our non-profit 501(c)(3) status organizations to work as CCP influencers,” Blackburn told Fox News Digital.
According to Blackburn, organizations tied to Singham are not simply engaging in activism but actively helping fuel political unrest and anti-American messaging.
“Singham’s group is one of these, as they try to spread and influence other organizations and participate with other organizations in protests, in demonstrations that are going to create chaos in the streets of U.S. cities,” she said.
Blackburn added that China has long relied on “soft propaganda” as a key strategy for expanding influence in the West.
At the center of the controversy is Singham himself, a former technology executive who sold his consulting company Thoughtworks in 2017 for an estimated $785 million before relocating to Shanghai. Since then, critics say he has used his fortune to bankroll activist organizations promoting Marxist and anti-Western ideology both in America and internationally.
A 2023 New York Times investigation linked Singham to Chinese Communist Party influence operations and documented his close ties to organizations aligned with Beijing’s messaging priorities.
Now federal agencies are reportedly investigating financial activity connected to the network. According to the Fox News report, officials from the Justice Department, Treasury Department, and State Department are examining millions in funding directed toward groups including The People’s Forum, which allegedly received approximately $22.5 million tied to Singham’s network.
One organization drawing especially intense scrutiny is CodePink, the anti-war activist group co-founded by Singham’s wife, Jodie Evans. Fox News reported that CodePink received more than $1.3 million connected to Singham.
Critics argue the group has repeatedly defended authoritarian communist governments, including China and Cuba.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., blasted CodePink in blunt terms.
“CodePink are AstroTurf weirdos bought and paid for by Communist China,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “They get their money from the most oppressive regime on the planet. They’re a joke.”
CodePink previously filed an ethics complaint against Hawley after he publicly accused the group of taking what he called “blood money from China.”
The controversy has also reignited questions surrounding enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. The law requires individuals or organizations engaging in political advocacy on behalf of foreign governments or entities to disclose their activities and financial relationships to the Justice Department.
Several lawmakers expressed disbelief that organizations tied to Singham have not been required to register.
“How they’re not registered under FARA is hard to understand because they’re very consistent,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said.
Diaz-Balart argued many of the organizations appear openly aligned with anti-American causes and hostile foreign regimes.
“[These groups’] sole role is pretty evident, to protect, defend and support anti-Americans,” he said. “Whether it is terrorist groups [or] terrorist regimes like the one in Iran or the one in Cuba.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., raised additional concerns about the true source of Singham’s wealth and whether Chinese government-linked funding may be indirectly supporting the network.
“The real crux of the matter is the genesis of that money,” Gimenez said. “Is [Singham] really that rich? Or is it a false rich… that they are actually funneling him?”
Those questions have become more urgent as investigators reportedly examine how money tied to Singham has funded activist efforts involving anti-Israel demonstrations, anti-ICE protests, and broader anti-American political organizing inside the U.S.
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., has also publicly described Singham as deeply embedded within CCP-linked networks.
Smith characterized Singham as “an individual who lives in Shanghai, maintains business ties with companies and individuals linked to the CCP, works with and physically alongside a foreign propaganda company, and attends CCP forums on how to promote the party abroad.”
One complication facing congressional investigators is that Singham resides in China, effectively shielding him from congressional subpoenas and limiting lawmakers’ ability to compel testimony directly.
