A US citizen who lived and worked for state media in China for several years pleaded guilty on Thursday to acting as a foreign agent for Beijing after allegedly collecting US$100,000 in return for collecting intelligence in the US on “American targets” and American politicians.
According to court documents, Thomas Weir Pauken II worked at the “direction and control” of Chinese officials linked to China’s Ministry of State Security from at least 2019 until February 2026, with someone using the English name “Cathy” directing him to meet potential sources in the US, deliver communication devices, gather information and send reports back to China.
“This case illustrates the lengths to which the Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions and degrade our political freedoms,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Let this plea serve as a clear warning.”
As outlined by prosecutors and in documents filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Cathy provided Pauken, also known as Tom McGregor, with a laptop, cellphone, and other devices to communicate, identified targets for him to pursue, and paid his travel expenses, through Pauken’s wife’s account, amounting to around US$7,500 per trip.
According to court documents, Pauken, 50, relocated to Hong Kong sometime around 2010, where he worked for China Radio International. He subsequently worked for China Central Television and China Global Television Network before becoming an editor for Xinhua in 2024.
Pauken, who faces up to 10 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1.
