NYPD officer arrested for allegedly acting as an agent of the Chinese government
An NYPD officer faces a variety of charges after being accused of acting as an agent of the Chinese government, CBS New York reports. According to prosecutors, Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was in regular contact with a member of the Chinese consulate and provided intelligence on ethnic Tibetans in New York City.
The federal complaint also alleges Angwang committed wire fraud against the U.S. Department of Defense, gave false statements and obstructed an official proceeding.
Angwang works in the community affairs unit at the 111th precinct in Queens and is listed as a staff sergeant with the U.S. Army Reserve, stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in an Airborne Civil Affairs battalion, according to officials. He holds a "secret" level security clearance as part of his job with the Army Reserve. Angwang is a Tibetan native of China and a naturalized U.S. citizen who resides in Williston Park, New York, the complaint said.
Prosecutors claim that since at least 2014, Angwang has "reported on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, and others, in the New York metropolitan area to the Consulate" and "spotted and assessed potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources in the New York metropolitan area and beyond." The complaint also alleges that Angwang provided consulate officials "access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official NYPD events."
"None of these activities falls within the scope of Angwang's official duties and responsibilities with either the NYPD or the [United States Army Reserve]," the complaint said.
"As alleged in this federal complaint, Baimadajie Angwang violated every oath he took in this country. One to the United States, another to the U.S. Army, and a third to this Police Department," said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, in response to Monday's criminal complaint. "From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPD's Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBI's Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice."
Angwang was ordered detained by a federal judge at a virtual court appearance on Monday afternoon. He will receive a future hearing on bail, but no date has been set. If convicted, Angwang could face up to 55 years in prison.
Pat Milton contributed to this report.