Former Federal Reserve Adviser Sentenced for Sharing Secrets with Chinese Spies

John Harold Rogers, a former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, has been sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for lying to investigators about sharing sensitive economic information with Chinese spies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the sentence, which also includes 12 months of supervised release.

Rogers, 64, from Vienna, Virginia, had access to confidential information regarding monetary policy during his decades of service with the Federal Reserve. His clandestine activities began in 2017 when he formed a relationship with Hummin Lee, a Chinese intelligence operative, whom he met at a conference in China. Over the years, Rogers met with Lee and his associates in hotel rooms, falsely presenting these meetings as academic sessions while actually conveying Federal Reserve information that Lee had requested.

Rogers printed restricted documents to take on trips to China, removed classification markings from materials before emailing them to his personal account, and forwarded sensitive information to a professor at Fudan University, a Chinese state-run institution, shortly before meeting Lee. He was aware that Lee was compiling reports for the Chinese government using the information he provided, understanding that such insights into Federal Reserve interest rate decisions could lead to significant profits for China in trading U.S. Treasury securities.

In return for his cooperation, Rogers received various benefits, including assistance with his new wife and financial support from Chinese universities. During an interview with investigators in early 2020, he denied ever sharing restricted information outside the Federal Reserve, stating, "Never."

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro remarked that Rogers' sentence is among the longest imposed for providing false statements to federal investigators, emphasizing the gravity of his betrayal. She stated, "He sold out his country and other members of the Federal Reserve Board, and he hid behind a lie." This case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threats posed by foreign espionage, particularly from China, which has targeted U.S. citizens and institutions in various ways.