Mingqing Xiao, a Chinese-American mathematics professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), was indicted by a federal grand jury in the state on two counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday (April 21). Xiao was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement.
This is another prosecution under the Justice Department’s China Initiative, which aims to combat national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party and to protect U.S. intellectual property, the Justice Department said.
According to court documents, Xiao, 59, obtained a $151,000 federal grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under false pretenses while concealing support he received from the Chinese Communist government and a Chinese university.
According to the indictment, Xiao Mingqing has worked in SIUC’s mathematics department since 2000. In his capacity as a professor at the university, he received a grant amount from NSF for a project scheduled to run from 2019 to 2022, but he concealed another overlapping grant he also received from the Chinese Communist Party’s National Natural Science Foundation.
In addition, Xiao Mingqing is accused of failing to disclose that he received a salary from Shenzhen University in Guangdong Province and had committed to teaching and conducting research for Shenzhen University from 2018 to 2023.
The indictment alleges that while the NSF grant was pending, Xiao applied for another grant from the Communist Party’s National Natural Science Foundation as an employee of Shenzhen University, and failed to disclose this new application to NSF. And before wholesale funding was awarded to Xiao Mingqing, NSF asked him if he had existing or pending international resources, including holding positions or obtaining grants outside the United States, and Xiao made false statements.
If convicted, the maximum penalty for each count of wire fraud charged against Mingqing Xiao is 20 years in prison, and the maximum penalty for making false statements is five years in prison, according to the indictment. In addition, the maximum fine that can be imposed on all three charges is up to $250,000.
These charges are very serious,” said Steven Weinhoeft, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, in a statement. University grant fraud allows the Chinese Communist Party to gobble up U.S. research and development at a fraction of the cost.”
“Prosecutions like the one in this case serve a significant purpose, not only in protecting U.S. academic investments from foreign exploitation, but also in countering the growing threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to our national security.” Weinhoft said.
In addition, a Chinese-American couple in Ohio were recently charged with allegedly stealing secrets from the state’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) and taking the information back to China for profit.
The two defendants are Yu Zhou, 51, and Li Chen, 47, who worked as researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Ohio’s laboratory, court documents show. They are accused of stealing at least five trade secrets related to the use of exosomes to treat cancer during their 10-year tenure at the lab and receiving benefits from the Chinese Communist government, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.
Following the revelations, the two pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 30 months and 33 months in prison, respectively. In addition to serving their sentences, the two were also forfeited about $1.45 million worth of stock and $2.6 million in restitution.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement saying that the successful prosecution of the two men is a warning to all those who attempt to steal U.S. trade secrets.
The Justice Department said the U.S. government has arrested and prosecuted dozens of scientists and researchers with ties to the Chinese Communist Party since last year’s crackdown on its “Thousand Talents Program” and that as many as 1,000 researchers with ties to the Chinese military have left the country.
Recent Comments