Brooklyn, NY–A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Baimadajie Angwang, a New York City Police Department officer and United States Army reservist, with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as well as committing wire fraud, making false statements and obstructing an official proceeding. Angwang was arrested today.
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’s community affairs unit where he serves as a liaison to the community served by the 111th Precinct.
Since at least 2014, Angwang allegedly acted at the direction and control of officials at the PRC Consulate in New York City. 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 officials 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 charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Angwang faces a maximum sentence of 55 years’ imprisonment.
