A citizen of the United States is facing federal charges for allegedly spying on behalf of the Chinese government.

Xuehua 'Edward' Peng, 56, delivered classified information relating to national security to the Chinese government according to a complaint that was unsealed on Monday and obtained by DailyMail.com.

The complaint alleges he retrieved four SD cards from hotel rooms between October 2015 and June 2018, and in each instance traveled to Beijing shortly thereafter.

Peng also left behind $20,000 cash in an envelope four times in that same period.

He was arrested on Friday at his $1.2 million home in California and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco, who ordered Peng be held without bond pending further proceedings.

Peng had been serving as a tour guide prior to his arrest, and operated sightseeing trips for Chinese tourists in San Francisco while also allegedly serving as a courier for China's Ministry of State Security.

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Source: United States attorney David L. Anderson holds an SD memory card (above) as he announces charges against Xuehua 'Edward' Peng on Monday

'The conduct charged in this case alleges a combination of age-old spycraft and modern technology,' said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson for the Northern District of California.

'Defendant Xuehua (Edward) Peng is charged with executing dead drops, delivering payments, and personally carrying to Beijing, China, secure digital cards containing classified information related to the national security of the United States.'

He went on to state: 'The charges announced today provide a rare glimpse into the secret efforts of the People’s Republic of China to obtain classified national security information from the United States and the battle being waged by our intelligence and law-enforcement communities to protect our people, our ideas, and our national defense.'

If convicted, Peng faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, and a fine of $250,000 for acting as an agent of a foreign government.

Peng, 56, was arrested on Friday at his $1.2 million home in California

'According to the allegations, Peng conducted numerous dead drops here in the United States on behalf of Chinese intelligence officers and delivered classified information to them in China. His arrest exposes and disrupts an operation by those Chinese intelligence officers to collect such information without having to step foot in this country,' said Assistant Attorney General of National Security John C. Demers.

'Coming on top of our many recent Chinese espionage cases - involving both national defense and intellectual property information - this case illustrates the seriousness of Chinese espionage efforts and the determination of the United States to thwart them.'

The government is hoping this sends a strong and clear message to China.

'Putting an end to Mr. Peng’s alleged actions are an important and significant step in dismantling the PRC’s overall efforts against our country,' said Special Agent in Charge Bennett of the FBI San Francisco Division.

'Our message is clear: the FBI, along with our intelligence community partners, will pursue foreign adversaries -at any level of an operation- and disrupt their malicious activity when it is detected.'