Liu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, both New York City residents, face charges of conspiring to act as agents for China and obstruction of justice.
They are expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Monday.
China has previously denied operating the stations, calling them “service centers” for nationals overseas.
Mr. Jianwang and Mr. Jinping worked together to establish the first overseas police station in the United States on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security, the US Department of Justice alleged on Monday.
The outpost was closed in the fall of 2022, the department said, after those involved became aware of an FBI investigation into the station.
“This prosecution reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City,” said Breon Pearce, the top prosecutor in Brooklyn.
Human rights groups have accused China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad.
The stations are believed to be among at least 100 operating across the globe in 53 countries, including the UK and the Netherlands.
And last month, Canada’s federal government announced an investigation into two Montreal-area sites thought to be police outposts.
“The PRC’s actions go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct. We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression,” said assistant attorney general Matthew Olsen, from the Justice Department’s National Security Division
According to prosecutors, Mr. Jianwang was closely connected to Chinese law enforcement and was enlisted to help China with “repressive activities” in the US, including harassing Chinese dissidents.
If convicted, both Mr. Jianwang and Mr. Jinping face up to 25 years in prison.