ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York state research scientist has admitted taking payments from a technology supplier while steering federal grant money to the company.

Gerwin Schalk of Albany pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to making false statements on conflict of interest documents he submitted for National Institutes of Health grants. New York’s inspector general and federal prosecutors announced the plea.

The 48-year-old Schalk specialized in neurology research at the state health department’s Wadsworth Center. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says he took $70,000 in payments from a company whose products he used in his research.

In his plea, he agreed to repay $49,000 to the state and $21,000 to the NIH, and to resign.

Schalk could face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced in April.