John Harold Rogers, a former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, was sentenced on July 15 to 38 months in federal prison after being found guilty of making false statements to federal investigators about sharing restricted Federal Reserve information with Chinese intelligence operatives.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said, “John Rogers spent years secretly funneling sensitive Federal Reserve information to Chinese spies, then looked investigators in the eye and lied about it. And when that wasn’t enough, he lied again under oath at trial.” Pirro added that employees entrusted with sensitive economic information cannot expect to avoid accountability by lying.
A federal jury found Rogers guilty on February 3 following two days of deliberation. In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Dabney Friedrich ordered him to serve 12 months of supervised release. Prosecutors had requested a five-year sentence.
Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said, “John Rogers deliberately lied to our investigators to conceal the fact he shared restricted non-public Federal Reserve information with intelligence agents working for China. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that those who mislead and obstruct federal agents will be brought to justice.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel Wierzbicki stated, “While holding a position of trust, Rogers repeatedly violated Federal Reserve information security policies by taking sensitive, nonpublic information and sending it to himself, while he was in China, and to others affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. Rogers then lied to federal agents about these disclosures. His sentencing underscores the shared commitment of the FBI and the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General to pursue anyone who endangers U.S. economic and national security by passing confidential information to an adversarial government.”
Court documents show that from 2010 until 2021 Rogers worked as a senior adviser in FRB’s Division of International Finance with access to confidential monetary policy data. Beginning in 2017 he developed a clandestine relationship with Hummin Lee—a Chinese intelligence operative—meeting him at conferences and providing requested materials during trips abroad under academic pretenses.
Rogers received personal benefits including help for his wife and university positions from Lee and associated institutions. He denied ever sharing restricted material outside the Board during an interview on Feb. 4, 2020.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office along with the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors.