Ex-Federal Reserve Advisor Indicted, Accused Of Spying For China

A former senior Federal Reserve advisor was arrested on Friday for allegedly selling sensitive economic information to the Chinese government.

John Harold Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly stealing Federal Reserve trade secrets and selling them to Chinese intelligence officials. Rogers reportedly sold the sensitive information for at least $450,000 by posing as a university professor in China, according to court documents. He is also accused of lying to Federal Reserve investigators and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials.

Rogers made his first appearance in federal court on Friday, the same day his arrest and indictment were announced by the Justice Department. He is currently being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

The data that was allegedly shared by Rogers with his co-conspirators could allow China to manipulate the U.S. market “in a manner similar to insider trading,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C.

The information would allow the Chinese Communist Party to “gain advance knowledge of U.S. economic policy, including advance knowledge of changes to the federal funds rate, [which] could provide China with an advantage when selling or buying U.S. bonds or securities,” prosecutors said. The release further noted that China holds about $816 billion of U.S. government debt.

Rogers’ alleged co-conspirators are members of China’s intelligence and security apparatus, both of whom posed as graduate students at a Chinese university, prosecutors said. The conspirators allegedly provided Rogers with several gifts, including a paid beach vacation. They also paid for his airfare, meals and lodging during his trips to China, where he worked as a part-time professor at Fudan University in Shanghai after retiring from the Fed. In 2023, he was paid $450,000 for his work at the university.

John Harold Rogers

“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,” the press release continues. Rogers would then allegedly meet with his co-conspirators in hotel rooms under the guise of teaching classes, where he would share the information.

When questioned by investigators from the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board on February 4, 2020, Rogers lied about his accessing and passage of sensitive information and his associations with his co-conspirators.

Rogers has been charged with conspiracy to commit economic espionage and with making false statements to investigators. The conspiracy to commit espionage charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $5 million. The lying to federal investigators charge carries a maximum prison term of five years.

Jonathan Gitlen, an attorney for Rogers, told the Associated Press that his client has denied any wrongdoing and will be pleading not guilty. “Dr. Rogers denies the allegations as set forth in the indictment,” he said, adding that his client intends to speak more at a later date.

“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 foreign adversary,” said D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin. “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.”

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