The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:
Thomas
Weir Pauken II, 50, an American citizen who lived and worked in the People’s
Republic of China (PRC), pleaded guilty today to acting as an agent of a
foreign government within the United States.
“In effect, Pauken admitted to being part of a conspiracy to
obtain sensitive information from the U.S. government for the PRC,” said
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His
actions are a betrayal of this Nation and pose an unacceptable risk to our
national security. NSD remains committed to safeguarding information essential
to our national security, including through appropriate prosecution.”
“By his own admission, not only did Thomas Pauken attempt to
infiltrate U.S. political circles at the direction of China’s Ministry of State
Security, but he gathered intelligence on his American targets and reported it
back to his Chinese intelligence handlers,” said Assistant Director Roman
Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This case
illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to
undermine our democratic institutions and degrade our political freedoms, but
it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to
our national security. Let this plea serve as a clear warning: If you attempt
to help a foreign adversary as an unregistered agent in the U.S., the FBI will
find you and bring you to justice.”
According to court documents, from at least 2019 until February
2026, Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for
the PRC, including a person he met in 2017 identified as “Cathy.” Cathy
provided Pauken with taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence
assets, providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to
communicate with Cathy, providing taskings for the assets on what information
was required, and providing Cathy with reports from the assets.
Pauken received at least $100,000 for his work with Cathy. Cathy
also paid for Pauken to travel several times between 2019 through 2025 from
China to meet with individuals in the United States who could provide Pauken,
and ultimately Cathy and the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), with
information.
Pauken worked for two other people in China whom he met in 2017
and knew as “Richard” and “William.” They told Pauken that reports he wrote for
them went to Japan, but Pauken believed they worked for the PRC government.
Pauken also sold reports to a group of Chinese individuals from
Wuhan who sought information about technology and the U.S. Department of
Justice. The Wuhan clients wanted Pauken to find an expert to help them engage
in cyber espionage.
Pauken is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 1 and faces a
maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will
determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and
other statutory factors.
The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated this case with
assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Trial Attorney Eli Ross of the National Security Division’s
Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney
Gavin R. Tisdale for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
Note: The Assistant Attorney General's quote has been updated
from the previous version
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