Ex-Fed Advisor Arrested for Allegedly Leaking Trade Secrets to China

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former senior advisor to the Federal Reserve, John Harold Rogers, was arrested Friday on charges of conspiring to steal trade secrets for the benefit of China, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C.

Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia, allegedly shared confidential Federal Reserve information with Chinese intelligence operatives posing as graduate students. The stolen data, which included proprietary economic datasets and sensitive Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) deliberations, could have allowed China to manipulate U.S. markets, prosecutors said.

“Gaining advance knowledge of U.S. economic policy, including changes to the federal funds rate, could provide China with an advantage when trading U.S. bonds or securities,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. China currently holds approximately $816 billion in U.S. government debt.

Rogers, who served as a senior advisor in the Federal Reserve’s international finance division from 2010 to 2021, allegedly exploited his position to solicit and share trade-secret information. Prosecutors claim he used his personal email to transmit sensitive data or printed documents before traveling to China to meet with co-conspirators.

“Under the guise of teaching ‘classes,’ Rogers met with his co-conspirators in hotel rooms in China, where he conveyed sensitive, trade-secret information belonging to the Federal Reserve and the FOMC,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

FBI Assistant Director David Sundberg emphasized the broader implications of the case, stating, “The Chinese Communist Party has expanded its economic espionage campaign to target U.S. government financial policies and trade secrets in an effort to undermine the U.S. and become the sole superpower.”

Rogers faces charges of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and making false statements. His arrest coincides with the White House‘s announcement of new tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, set to take effect Saturday.

The case highlights growing concerns about foreign espionage targeting U.S. economic institutions. The Federal Reserve has not yet issued a public statement regarding the arrest.