US Man Gets Prison Time For Recruiting Spies For China Using Loudoun As Base

ALEXANDRIA, VA – An American man who pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, using Loudoun County as his recruitment base, has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Thomas Weir Pauken, 51, “knowingly assisted a foreign adversary in actively subverting the government of the United States for his own financial gain,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Theophani Stamos said in a release on the sentencing on Tuesday.

“This was not an isolated act," Stamos said. "Pauken continued his course of conduct to aid China for seven years.”

In June, Pauken agreed to a deal in which he pleaded guilty to a single charge of acting as an agent for a foreign government.

According to court documents, Pauken began acting on the direction of individuals he knew or believed to be working for Chinese intelligence services by at least 2019. Pauken is said to have been paid at least $100,000 for his work on behalf of one of these people, whom he believed was employed by Chinese security or intelligence agencies.

Pauken helped recruit American contacts his Chinese employers thought could provide classified information. Pauken acted as a go-between, providing these Americans with technology and access credentials to put them in more direct contact with his Chinese contacts. These recruitment meetings took place in the Washington metro area, and Pauken's offenses were identified as taking place in Loudoun County.

Pauken also wrote reports for other individuals in China whom he believed worked for the Chinese government, and worked for a time for a group he believed was connected to Chinese state security bodies that sought information about the U.S. Justice Department and cyber espionage. Pauken stopped working for that group when they asked him to commit espionage directly.

Pauken never registered under the U.S.’ notoriously vague Foreign Agents Registration Act. Individuals working on behalf of a foreign government in the United States are required to register with the Justice Department under this act. However, it is often argued that the Act's language is overbroad and encompasses activities that people would not consider advocacy for a foreign state.

While Pauken himself was not accused of supplying any classified information to the Chinese government or even of seeking to do so, he admitted to partnering with China’s Ministry of State Security to recruit individuals who could supply such information. He conveyed his Chinese contacts’ desire for classified information to American contacts who might have been able to provide it.

Pauken had lived in China for about 15 years at the time of his arrest. According to court documents, he said he hoped his work would prevent any military confrontation between the U.S. and China and could help expand religious freedoms in China.

Pauken faced up to 10 years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in the release, “Pauken betrayed his country for money. The National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who aids or abets Chinese espionage efforts.”