By Chun Han Wong
A U.S. citizen who worked in China as a state-media journalist has pleaded guilty to acting illegally as a Chinese government agent in the U.S., the latest in a series of prosecutions of Americans accused of secretly working for Beijing.
Thomas Pauken II, the son of a former Reagan administration official and Texas Republican Party chairman, was arrested in February while visiting Washington, on charges that he had violated U.S. law requiring agents of foreign governments to notify authorities before operating in the U.S.
Federal prosecutors allege that Pauken had been working at the direction of individuals whom he knew were operatives for China's Ministry of State Security, the country's main civilian intelligence agency.
According to prosecution documents, Pauken had been working as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government since 2019, traveling to the U.S. from his home in China
to recruit informants and act as an intermediary for a Chinese intelligence operative.
Pauken, who is in his early 50s, pleaded guilty on Thursday to working as an unregistered foreign agent. He is set to be sentenced on Sept. 1 and faces up to 10 years in jail, the Justice Department said.
"By his own admission, not only did Thomas Pauken attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles at the direction of China's Ministry of State Security, but he gathered intelligence on his American targets and reported it back to his Chinese intelligence handlers," Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said in the statement.
Pauken's lawyer said his client accepted responsibility for working as an agent for China without first completing required U.S. government forms. "Mr. Pauken hoped his work would promote peaceful relations and advance the cause of religious freedom in China," the lawyer said in a statement.
China's Ministry of State Security didn't respond to queries.
Pauken's guilty plea follows other U.S. prosecution victories against American citizens accused of working for the Chinese government without proper disclosure.
In May, Eileen Wang, a former mayor of Arcadia, Calif., agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China for actions she took before entering public office. The same month, a New York court convicted Lu Jianwang, a U.S. citizen, for his part in setting up a police station in New York on behalf of China, and obstructing justice by destroying evidence.
Pauken moved to China in 2010 and worked under the alias "Tom McGregor" as his father didn't wish to appear associated with the son's activities in China, according to prosecution documents.
Pauken worked for various state media outlets including China Central Television and Xinhua News Agency, according to the documents, which said he is married to a Chinese woman, with whom he has a son.
In 2017, Pauken was introduced to a Chinese woman who went by the name Cathy and said she was a consultant for a think tank connected to the Chinese government, according to prosecution documents. Cathy allegedly expressed an interest in getting classified information from Pauken, who at the time said he neither had such information nor intended to get it.
In 2022 or 2023, Cathy conducted a polygraph test on Pauken, persuading him to do so after telling him his reports were being sent to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the documents said. She asked Pauken if he was spying on China or working for the Central Intelligence Agency, to which he said no.
Cathy allegedly assigned tasks to Pauken, such as telling him to meet potential intelligence assets and provide them with devices such as laptops and cellphones, the documents said. Pauken was also tasked to instruct the would-be sources on what information to gather and provide Cathy with reports from these assets.
He received at least $100,000 for his work with Cathy, who also covered Pauken's travel expenses from China to the U.S., the documents said.
The FBI interviewed Pauken when he visited the U.S. in early 2025, the documents said. At the time, the FBI told Pauken to continue his interactions with Cathy and others in China. The FBI also warned him not to obtain or transfer any classified material.
During this 2025 trip, Pauken met an individual in the U.S., identified in prosecution documents as "Person 1," who had been providing reports and answering questions from Pauken since 2023. In a 2025 exchange with Pauken, Cathy said she noticed on LinkedIn that Person 1 had been hired by a U.S. government agency, the documents said.
Pauken gave Person 1 a laptop and a mobile phone, which had encrypted messaging apps connected to an account with usernames Catherine and Cathy. At this point, the person told Pauken he no longer wished to work with him.
Pauken reconnected with the person early this year and asked him again about working for Cathy. The FBI monitored their meeting and interviewed both of them afterward.
Pauken was arrested two days after the meeting. A Facebook account under the name Tom McGregor showed photos of Pauken and his family visiting Washington in February shortly before his arrest.
Write to Chun Han Wong at chunhan.wong@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 05, 2026 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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