File Photo
Angwang worked in the Community Affairs Unit out of the 111th Precinct in Queens.
By Forum Staff
A City police officer and Army reservist has been arrested for allegedly acting as a spy for China, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
Baimadajie Angwang, 33, who worked out of the 111th Precinct in Bayside, has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China as well as committing wire fraud, making false statements, and obstructing an official proceeding.
According to the publicly filed complaint and the government’s detention memorandum, Angwang, an ethnic Tibetan native of the PRC and naturalized U.S. citizen, is assigned to the NYPD Community Affairs Unit.
Since at least 2014, Angwang allegedly acted at the direction and control of officials at the PRC Consulate in Manhattan. Specifically, Angwang reported on the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area, spotted and assessed potential intelligence sources within the Tibetan community in New York and elsewhere, and provided PRC officials with access to senior NYPD brass through invitations to official events. One of the PRC Consular officials at whose direction Angwang acted worked for the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, a division of the PRC’s United Front Work Department. This department is responsible for, among other things, neutralizing potential opponents of the PRC and co-opting ethnic Chinese individuals living outside the PRC.
Angwang is also charged with committing wire fraud, making material false statements and obstructing an official proceeding. As part of his employment with the U.S. Army Reserve, Angwang maintained a “SECRET”-level security clearance. According to court documents, in 2019, Angwang completed and electronically submitted an SF-86C form for a background investigation. On the form, Angwang lied by denying that he had contacts with a foreign government or its consulate and by denying that he had close and continuing contacts with foreign nationals, including his family members who live in the PRC, some of whom are affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army.
“The defendant allegedly violated his sworn oath to serve the New York City community and defend the Constitution against all enemies by reporting to PRC government officials about the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area and developing intelligence sources within the Tibetan community in the United States,” said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme.
If convicted, Angwang faces a maximum sentence of 55 years’ imprisonment.
“This is the definition of an insider threat—as alleged, Mr. Angwang operated on behalf of a foreign government; lied to gain his clearance, and used his position as an NYPD police officer to aid the Chinese government’s subversive and illegal attempts to recruit intelligence sources,” said FBI NY Assistant Director-in-Charge Bill Sweeney, Jr. “The FBI is committed to stopping hostile foreign governments from infiltrating our institutions, and we will we not tolerate the behavior of those who willingly violate their oath to the United States, and covertly work against their fellow citizens. We want to thank the NYPD for its extraordinary partnership on this investigation.”
