The
U.S. Justice Department released the below information:
John
Harold Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia, a former Senior Adviser for the Federal
Reserve Board of Governors (FRB), was arrested today on charges that he
conspired to steal Federal Reserve trade secrets for the benefit of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC).
In furtherance of the conspiracy, allegedly made false
statements to the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG),
and those false statements had a material impact on its investigation.
“As alleged, the defendant violated the trust placed in him by
the Federal Reserve Bank by putting U.S. trade secrets in the hands of his
PRC co-conspirators, knowing full well that such information would benefit the
PRC Government and PRC instrumentalities,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the
Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will
continue to use all the tools at its disposal to disrupt economic
espionage and protect our national security.”
“President Trump tasks us with protecting our fellow Americans
from all enemies, foreign and domestic. As alleged in the indictment, this
defendant leveraged his position within the Federal Reserve to pass sensitive
financial information to the Chinese government, a designated adversary,” said
U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia. “Let this
indictment serve as a warning to all who seek to betray or exploit the United
States: law enforcement will find you and hold you accountable.”
“As alleged in the indictment, Rogers betrayed his country while
employed at the Federal Reserve by providing restricted U.S. financial and
economic information to Chinese government intelligence officers,” said
Assistant Director Kevin Vorndran of the FBI Counterintelligence Division.
“This information could allow adversaries to illegally gain a strategic
economic advantage at the expense of the U.S. This indictment sends a clear
message that the FBI and our partners will hold accountable those who threaten
our national security.”
“The Chinese Communist Party has expanded its economic espionage
campaign to target U.S. government financial policies and trade secrets in an
effort to undermine the United States and become the sole superpower,” said
Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office.
“Today's indictment represents the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protect U.S.
national security interests and U.S. jobs and bring to justice those who are
willing to betray their country for personal gain.”
“This indictment sends a clear message that those who
deliberately misuse sensitive Federal Reserve information for their own
personal gain and lie about it to investigators will be held accountable for
their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge John T. Perez of the FRB-OIG,
Headquarters Operations.
According to the indictment, Rogers, a U.S. citizen with a Ph.D.
in economics, worked as a Senior Adviser in FRB’s Division of International
Finance of the FRB from 2010 until 2021, where he was entrusted with
confidential FRB information. The confidential information that Rogers
allegedly shared with his Chinese co-conspirators, who worked for the
intelligence and security apparatus of China and who posed as graduate students
at a PRC university, is economically valuable when secret.
China holds a large amount of U.S. foreign debt (approximately
$816 billion as of October 2024). The data Rogers shared with his
co-conspirators could allow China to manipulate the U.S. market, in a manner
similar to insider trading. Gaining advance knowledge of U.S. economic policy,
including advance knowledge of changes to the federal funds rate, could provide
China with an advantage when selling or buying U.S. bonds or securities.
The indictment alleges that, from at least 2018, Rogers
allegedly exploited his employment with the FRB by soliciting trade-secret
information regarding proprietary economic data sets, deliberations about
tariffs targeting China, briefing books for designated governors, and sensitive
information about Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) deliberations and
forthcoming announcements. He passed that information electronically to his
personal email account, in violation of FRB policy, or printed it prior to traveling
to China, in preparation for meetings with his co-conspirators.
Under the guise of teaching “classes,” Rogers met with his
co-conspirators in hotel rooms in China where he conveyed sensitive,
trade-secret information that belonged to the FRB and the FOMC. In 2023, Rogers
was paid approximately $450,000 as a part-time professor at a Chinese
university.
On Feb. 4, 2020, in response to questioning by the FRB-OIG,
Rogers lied about his accessing and passage of sensitive information and his
associations with his co-conspirators.
Rogers is charged with conspiracy to commit economic espionage
and with making false statements.
The FBI Washington Field Office and FRB-OIG are investigating
the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall for the District of
Columbia and Trial Attorneys Nicholas Hunter and Steve Marzen of the National
Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section are prosecuting the
case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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