Insiders Charged in Two Chinese Espionage Cases

A Defense Department official and a former Boeing engineer have been arrested in two separate cases alleging they tried to pass confidential information to China.

The Defense official, Gregg Bergersen, was a weapons policy analyst with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Washington Post reports. He is accused of passing classified documents about Taiwan’s arms purchases to a Chinese businessman. Court papers say FBI agents tracked their meetings every few months at Northern Virginia restaurants. At one meeting, Bergersen allegedly collected a half-inch stack of hundred-dollar bills.

The engineer, Dongfan Chung, was accused of stealing trade secrets from Boeing about the space shuttle and military projects, the New York Times reports.

Bergersen's wife, Ofelia, said outside the courthouse that her husband is “absolutely innocent,” the Post reports.

Justice Department officials say the cases indicate that China is becoming more aggressive in trying to steal U.S. secrets.