An American citizen, Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to serve 36 months of supervised release with no overseas travel after being convicted of acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China inside the United States; court filings say his work for handlers known as “Cathy,” “Richard,” and “William” spanned from at least 2019 through February 2026 and involved recruiting U.S.-based contacts, handing out devices to potential assets, and receiving at least $100,000 in payments.
Thomas Weir Pauken II lived and worked in the People’s Republic of China before his arrest and conviction. Federal court records show he met a handler identified as “Cathy” in 2017 and carried out taskings at her direction while traveling in and out of the United States. The sentence handed down this week includes two years behind bars and strict supervised release conditions, including a ban on overseas travel.
Court filings say Pauken “exploited his U.S. citizenship and corresponding ability to travel to the U.S. without restriction in order to support Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operations, recruiting, and gathering of sensitive information from potential assets,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Pauken betrayed his country for money. The National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who aids or abets Chinese espionage efforts.”
According to prosecutors, Pauken’s work included meeting potential intelligence assets and providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to communicate with his handlers. He reportedly delivered taskings to those assets, collected reports, and passed the information along to his China-based contacts. Investigators say the pattern continued over years and involved coordination with multiple people in China.
Prosecutors allege Pauken received at least $100,000 for his services, and that “Cathy” funded multiple trips between 2019 and 2025 so Pauken could meet U.S.-based individuals who might provide useful information. He is also accused of selling reports to a group from Wuhan that sought details about technology and the U.S. Department of Justice, and of being asked to find an expert to support cyber espionage. Those alleged sales and solicitations put him squarely in the crosshairs of counterintelligence investigators.
“Thomas Pauken knowingly assisted a foreign adversary in actively subverting the government of the United States for his own financial gain,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This was not an isolated act; Pauken continued his course of conduct to aid China for seven years. It is unconscionable that an American citizen would not only undermine the interests of the United States, but also facilitate others in doing so.”
Pauken also worked for two other contacts he met in 2017, known in court papers as “Richard” and “William.” He believed their reports ultimately went to the PRC government, even if intermediaries told him otherwise. That web of relationships, prosecutors say, helped the handlers recruit assets, gather sensitive information, and attempt to infiltrate political circles in the United States.
“Thomas Pauken admitted to working at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security to attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles while also providing new recruitment targets for his Chinese handlers,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions, and it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security. The sentencing provides a clear warning: anyone operating as an agent of a foreign government against the U.S. will be found by the FBI and held accountable.”
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office led the probe with assistance from the Washington Field Office, and prosecutors from the Eastern District of Virginia and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division handled the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin R. Tisdale of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Eli Ross of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence & Export Control Section are listed as the prosecutors on the record.
This prosecution reinforces a hard line against foreign espionage within U.S. borders and underscores the persistent efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to acquire sensitive information. The sentence is intended to deter similar conduct and make clear that exploiting U.S. citizenship to aid a foreign intelligence service will be met with federal consequences.
