Accused of espionage, now a Chinese-American scientist gets her government job back

After an espionage case that went nowhere and two and half years of court battles, a Chinese-American scientist will soon return to work in Ohio.

Sherry Chen was working hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Wilmington for more than seven years when she was accused of espionage. The case was dropped, but that did not stop the Department of Commerce from firing her.

In a 132-page decision, Judge Michele Schroeder with the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled in favor of Chen's reinstatement last week. The Department of Commerce was ordered to give her back pay, but she will have to serve a 15-day suspension before returning to work.

"Ms. Chen asserts that she is the 'victim of a gross injustice,' ” the decision states. "After reviewing the evidence and testimony in this matter, I believe Ms. Chen’s assertion is correct."

Chen raised issues of discrimination, but in the end, the judge said the Department of Commerce mishandled her case on several levels. The decision was particularly critical of Chen's superiors: Laura Furgione and Vice Admiral Michael Devany.

"Ms. Furgione and Admiral Devany seemed more concerned about being right than doing the right thing," the decision said. "Based on the unyielding nature of their testimony, I would not have been surprised if they rejected that 2 + 2 = 4."

More: Disgraced Chinese-American scientist fights to get her job back

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Furgione proposed terminating Chen while Devaney made the final decision, according to the decision.

The judge also noted that the National Weather Service kept investigation documents from Chen's defense team only turning them over "after her counsel discovered their existence by chance."

The investigation into Chen began in in 2012 after the Department of Commerce received a complaint from a colleague, said Steve Simon, a lawyer representing Chen.

The FBI got involved and Chen was arrested in October 2014 and charged with four felonies. The government accused her of lying to federal agents and illegally accessing a restricted government database, the National Inventory of Dams.

Chen worked with also Chinese colleague and was questioned about sharing data with her, but there was no evidence that Chen ever shared secret, classified or proprietary info with anyone outside her agency.

In March 2015, all the charges were dropped, but she had already been suspended from her job. In August 2015, she was terminated. Simon said the reason given for the firing was the same "bogus nonsense” in the federal case.

Chen's case is among a group of similar cases. Xiaoxing Xi, Guoqing Cao, and Shuyu Li were all charged with espionage to only later have the charges dropped.

"Unfortunately, there have been multiple cases in which Chinese-American scientists like Sherry have been wrongfully targeted and arrested for alleged espionage only to have those charges dropped with no explanation," said Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Despite the larger vindication in the decision, Chen will still face a 15-day suspension related to sharing data with a researcher.

In an email exchange, Tom Adams, who had previously worked as a National Weather Service hydrologist asked Chen to send him some data for an academic paper.

"Please do not tell anyone you are doing this; is that OK?" Adams asked.

Chen agreed to stay silent a follow-up email, and gave Adams simulated data, the judge noted. The judge said Chen engaged in conduct demonstrating untrustworthiness.

The Department of Commerce could appeal the decision, Simon said, but the judge's decision allows Chen to continue working through that process.

The merit board's decision will go into effect May 28. Simon said Chen's 15-day suspension may begin after that point, which would put her back at work in mid-June.