John Harold Rogers, a former senior adviser at the Federal Reserve Board, was acquitted by a federal jury in Washington, D.C. on February 3, 2026, of conspiring to commit economic espionage for the benefit of China. The verdict came about a year after his January 2025 indictment and arrest in what the Justice Department had described as a scheme to pass sensitive U.S. economic policy information to Chinese intelligence officers.1Law360. Ex-Fed Adviser Acquitted of Espionage Conspiracy Charge
Who John Harold Rogers Is
Rogers holds a Ph.D. in economics and worked as a senior adviser in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ Division of International Finance from 2010 to 2021. The position gave him access to proprietary economic data sets, briefing books prepared for Federal Reserve governors, internal deliberations about tariffs targeting China, and sensitive information about Federal Open Market Committee deliberations and upcoming policy announcements.2U.S. Department of Justice. Former Senior Adviser to Federal Reserve Indicted on Charges of Economic Espionage
After leaving the Fed, Rogers took a part-time professorship at Fudan University’s Fanhai International School of Finance in Shanghai.3NBC Bay Area. Ex-Senior Federal Reserve Advisor Charged With Economic Espionage to Benefit China Prosecutors said he received roughly $450,000 in 2023 for that work, comprising about $150,000 per semester in salary and a $300,000 research grant.4Taipei Times. Former Fed Adviser Case a Blueprint for Taiwan
What Prosecutors Alleged
The government’s theory was that from around 2018 through 2021, Rogers used his Fed position to obtain trade secrets and hand them to two people who posed as graduate students at a Chinese university but actually worked for China’s intelligence and security services. According to the indictment, he emailed proprietary files to his personal account or printed sensitive documents before flying to China, then met the two men in hotel rooms under cover of teaching classes.2U.S. Department of Justice. Former Senior Adviser to Federal Reserve Indicted on Charges of Economic Espionage
Prosecutors argued that advance knowledge of U.S. economic policy, especially forthcoming changes to the federal funds rate, could let China manipulate U.S. markets “in a manner similar to insider trading” and gain a strategic edge trading U.S. bonds and securities. The indictment pointed to China’s roughly $816 billion in U.S. foreign debt holdings as of October 2024 as a measure of what that information was worth.2U.S. Department of Justice. Former Senior Adviser to Federal Reserve Indicted on Charges of Economic Espionage
A second count charged Rogers with lying to investigators from the Federal Reserve Board’s Office of Inspector General on February 4, 2020, about his access to sensitive information and his ties to the alleged co-conspirators. Prosecutors said those false statements materially affected the OIG investigation.5U.S. Department of Justice. Former Senior Adviser to Federal Reserve Indicted on Charges of Economic Espionage
How the Alleged Recruitment Unfolded
The relationship began in 2013, according to reporting on the indictment, when Rogers attended a business forum in Shanghai and was approached by a person posing as a Chinese graduate student who expressed interest in the Federal Reserve. Rogers then accepted an all-expenses-paid invitation to return to China. The indictment later identified that individual as a Chinese intelligence officer.4Taipei Times. Former Fed Adviser Case a Blueprint for Taiwan
Prosecutors alleged that the co-conspirators cultivated the relationship with gifts, paid vacations, and travel expenses covering airfare, lodging, and meals.3NBC Bay Area. Ex-Senior Federal Reserve Advisor Charged With Economic Espionage to Benefit China The indictment also alleged that Chinese intelligence arranged Rogers’ 2018 marriage to a woman named Liu Yu through a matchmaking service, as part of a broader effort at emotional manipulation.4Taipei Times. Former Fed Adviser Case a Blueprint for Taiwan
Arrest and Detention
FBI agents arrested Rogers, then 63, at his apartment in Vienna, Virginia, on January 31, 2025, the day the indictment was unsealed. Agents found more than $50,000 in cash inside the apartment.6Radio Free Asia. Former Fed Advisor Pleads Not Guilty in China Spy Case
At his initial appearance on February 5, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Rogers pleaded not guilty. U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh denied bail, finding that Chinese operatives might help Rogers flee, and ordered him held pending trial.6Radio Free Asia. Former Fed Advisor Pleads Not Guilty in China Spy Case
The Verdict
On February 3, 2026, the jury acquitted Rogers of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, the more serious of the two counts against him. That charge had carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine.1Law360. Ex-Fed Adviser Acquitted of Espionage Conspiracy Charge5U.S. Department of Justice. Former Senior Adviser to Federal Reserve Indicted on Charges of Economic Espionage Available reporting on the verdict does not state how the separate false statements count was resolved.