Who Is John Harold Rogers? Ex-US Official Accused of Conspiring With China

John Harold Rogers, a former U.S. Federal Reserve official, has been accused of conspiring to steal Fed trade secrets to help China by the U.S. Justice Department.

The U.S. attorney's office outlined the charges faced by Rogers, a former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB) arrested on Friday.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. for comment.

Why it matters

The Fed's international finance division researches foreign economic activity, U.S. trade and global markets. The charges Rogers faces add to a climate of suspicion over claims China is undertaking an espionage campaign targeting U.S. government financial policies.

What to know

Rogers, 63, from Vienna, Virginia, has a Ph.D. in economics and was a senior advisor in the Fed's international finance division from 2010 to 2021, according to the Justice Department's press release.

Rogers is accused of sharing confidential FRB information with his co-conspirators, who worked for Chinese intelligence posing as graduate students at an unnamed Chinese university.

The data Rogers is accused of sharing from at least 2018 could have allowed China to manipulate the U.S. market, giving Beijing an advantage when buying or selling U.S. bonds or securities.

Rogers is accused of passing trade-secret information including deliberations about tariffs and sensitive market data by email or by printing it before traveling to China ahead of meeting with his co-conspirators.

Rogers allegedly met with his co-conspirators in hotel rooms in China where he passed on the sensitive information. In 2023, he was paid around $450,000 as a part-time professor at an unnamed Chinese university, it is alleged.

He allegedly received payments for airfare, lodging and dining during his travel to China, and was offered a payment for a beach vacation. Rogers is also accused of lying about passing on sensitive information when questioned by the FRB on February 4, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. described the indictment "as a warning to all who seek to betray or exploit the United States."

A Chinese Embassy spokesperson told Reuters that China upholds the rule of law and did not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

What people are saying

U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr: "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."

"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."

China's embassy told Reuters: "China is a country that upholds the rule of law...we oppose any smear and attack on China with so-called 'spy risks'."

What happens next

The FBI's Washington Field Office and the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.

Rogers is charged with conspiracy to commit economic espionage which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years and a fine of up to $5 million. The charges of making false statements can be met with a five-year sentence.