Chinese professor charged with fraud for concealing Chinese funding to join “Thousand Talents Program”

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida recently filed an indictment against Yang Lin (pronounced Lin Yang), a former professor at the University of Florida. The prosecution alleges that while receiving a $1.8 million U.S. federal grant, Yang concealed support he received from the Chinese government and the profits he made from a company he set up in China.

According to the indictment, Yang, a Chinese citizen, received a grant from the National Institutes of health (NIH) to develop a muscle imaging technology, but at the same Time established a company in China called Deep Informatics, which was included in China’s “Thousand Talents Program” for its association with Northwestern Polytechnic University. He was included in China’s “Thousand Talents Program” for his association with Northwestern Polytechnic University.

The prosecution alleges that Yang repeatedly provided false statements to the National Institutes of Health and the University of Florida, and intentionally concealed information about his business in China and his involvement in the Chinese government’s talent program.

Yang Lin is now reportedly charged with six counts of wire fraud and four counts of making false statements to U.S. agencies, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; each count of making false statements to U.S. agencies carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

However, Yang Lin has been back in China since August 2019 and has yet to return to the United States, according to the Voice of America.