Washington, DC: According to the US Department of Justice, John Harold Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia, a former Senior Adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB), was detained on Friday on suspicion of plotting to steal trade secrets from the FRB for China’s gain.
Furthermore, the department said that “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.”
The chief of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Devin DeBacker, said after the arrest that the “Justice Department will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to disrupt economic espionage and protect our national security.”
“As alleged, the defendant violated the trust placed in him by the Federal Reserve Bank by putting US trade secrets in the hands of his China co-conspirators, knowing full well that such information would benefit the PRC government and PRC instrumentalities,” DeBacker said.
“President Trump has given us the responsibility of defending our countrymen against all adversaries, both foreign and local. US Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia said, “This defendant used his position at the Federal Reserve to transmit sensitive financial information to the Chinese government, a designated adversary, as alleged in the indictment.” “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.”
Assistant Director Kevin Vorndran of the FBI Counterintelligence Division said, “As claimed in the indictment, Rogers betrayed his country while working at the Federal Reserve by giving Chinese government intelligence officers restricted access to US financial and economic information.” “At the cost of the United States, this intelligence may enable enemies to unlawfully obtain a strategic economic advantage. The FBI and our allies will punish those who endanger our national security responsibly, as this indictment makes very evident.
Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office said, “The Chinese Communist Party has broadened its economic espionage campaign to target US government financial policies and trade secrets in an effort to undermine the United States and become the sole superpower.” “Today’s indictment represents the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protect US national security interests and US jobs and bring to justice those who are willing to betray their country for personal gain.”
Special Agent in Charge John T. Perez of the FRB-OIG, Headquarters Operations, stated, “This indictment sends a clear message that those who intentionally misuse sensitive Federal Reserve information for their own personal gain and lie about it to investigators will be held accountable for their actions.”
The indictment claims that Rogers, a US citizen with a doctorate in economics, was entrusted with sensitive FRB information while serving as a senior adviser in the FRB’s Division of International Finance from 2010 to 2021.
When kept secret, the sensitive material that Rogers reportedly gave to his Chinese co-conspirators—who were employed by China’s intelligence and security services and pretended to be graduate students at a Chinese university—has significant economic value.
China owns a significant portion of the US foreign debt (about USD 816 billion as of October 2024), according to the US Justice Department. Similar to insider trading, the information Rogers gave his fellow conspirators may enable China to influence the US market. According to the US Department of Justice, China may be able to sell or purchase US bonds or securities more advantageously if it has advanced information of US economic policy, particularly changes to the federal funds rate.
According to the indictment, Rogers began abusing his position with the FRB at least in 2018. He allegedly solicited trade-secret information about proprietary economic data sets, discussions about tariffs against China, briefing books for designated governors, and sensitive information about upcoming announcements and discussions by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). In breach of FRB rules, he either printed that material before traveling to China or sent it electronically to his personal email account in order to prepare for meetings with his fellow conspirators.
Rogers met with his co-conspirators in hotel rooms in China under the pretense of giving “classes,” during which he shared trade secrets and sensitive information that belonged to the FOMC and the FRB.
In 2023, Rogers worked as a part-time lecturer at a Chinese university, earning around USD 450,000.
The US Department of Justice said, “On February 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 article said.
The situation is being looked into by the FRB-OIG and FBI Washington Field Office.
The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Nicholas Hunter and Steve Marzen of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section and Assistant US Attorney Kimberly Paschall for the District of Columbia.
An accusation is all that an indictment is. Until a person is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, they are all assumed innocent.
