Prominent Harvard Scientist Arrested By U.S. Authorities, Charged With Hiding Ties To China

Charles Lieber—a leading nanoelectronics researcher and the chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology—is accused of making false statements to the Department of Defense about his role in China’s Thousand Talents program. The complaint says, Lieber was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his work as a “strategic scientist” at Wuhan University of Technology.

The New York Times: U.S. Accuses Harvard Scientist Of Concealing Chinese Funding

Charles M. Lieber, the chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, was charged on Tuesday with making false statements about money he had received from a Chinese government-run program, part of a broad-ranging F.B.I. effort to root out theft of biomedical research from American laboratories. Dr. Lieber, a leader in the field of nanoscale electronics, was one of three Boston-area scientists accused on Tuesday of working on behalf of China. His case involves work with the Thousand Talents Program, a state-run program that seeks to draw talent educated in other countries. (Barry, 1/28)

The Associated Press: Harvard Professor Charged With Hiding China Ties, Payments

Lieber was arrested early Tuesday at his office at the Ivy League university, officials said. He remained in federal custody after a brief court appearance Tuesday, pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with his attorney. Authorities also announced charges against a researcher at Boston University, who is accused of lying about her ties to the Chinese military. (Durkin Richer, 1/28)

Boston Globe: Harvard Scientist Charged With Lying About Ties To Chinese University; Two Chinese Nationals Accused Of Economic Espionage

The case stretches back to 2011, when a professor at a leading Chinese university e-mailed a contract to Lieber. He told Lieber he had been recommended for a global recruitment program, part of the communist government’s “Thousand Talents Plan” to lure high-level scientific talent and, in some cases, reward them for stealing proprietary information, federal investigators said. (Alanez and Anderson, 1/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Harvard Chemistry Chairman Charged On Alleged Undisclosed Ties To China

As part of the Thousand Talents program, Wuhan University of Technology gave Mr. Lieber more than $1.5 million to set up a research lab in China, according to the complaint. The school also agreed to pay him a $50,000 monthly salary and offered about $150,000 in annual living expenses for “significant periods” from 2012 to 2017, it said. In exchange, Mr. Lieber was required to work for WUT at least nine months a year by “declaring international cooperation projects, cultivating young teachers and Ph.D. students, organizing international conference[s], applying for patents and publishing articles in the name of” the Chinese school, the complaint said. (Viswanatha and O'Keeffe, 1/28)

NPR: Acclaimed Harvard Scientist Is Arrested, Accused Of Lying About Ties To China

For a large part of the time frame in question, Lieber was also the principal investigator on at least six U.S. Defense Department research grants, with a cumulative value of more than $8 million, according to the affidavit. It also says he was the principal investigator on more than $10 million in grants funded by the National Institutes of Health. (Chappell, 1/28)

NBC News: Harvard's Chemistry Chair Charged With Lying About China Contract

Lieber additionally made false statements to the National Institutes of Health about his involvement in the recruitment plan and his affiliation with the Chinese university. He was in federal custody as of Tuesday afternoon, a senior federal law enforcement official told NBC News. (Winter and Arkin, 1/28)

Lexington Minuteman: Lexington Man, Harvard Professor, Arrested For Lying About Ties To China

“National Institutes of Health spends up to $39 million funding medical research in the United States. Those programs required Dr. Lieber to disclose if he was working with, including receving funding from, any foreign power. When questioned, Lieber hid his involvement with the Chinese entities, including specifically disavowing any connection to China’s Thousand Talents Plan,” Lelling said. (1/28)

CNN: Harvard Professor Charles Lieber Among Three Charged With Lying About Chinese Government Ties

In a statement, Harvard called the charges "extremely serious." "Harvard is cooperating with federal authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, and is conducting its own review of the alleged misconduct," the university said in a statement. "Professor Lieber has been placed on indefinite administrative leave." (Stracqualursi and Jones, 1/28)

Stat: Top Harvard Chemist Charged With Lying About Ties To China

Lieber is a decorated researcher. His research group at Harvard has received more than $15 million in grant funding from the NIH and the DoD, according to the complaint. In 2017, he was honored with the NIH’s Director’s Pioneer Award for his work on a mesh electronic system that could integrate with the central nervous system. That same year, he was named a University professor at Harvard, one of just 25 academics to be honored with the institution’s highest rank. (Robbins, 1/28)

Reuters: U.S. Charges Target Alleged Chinese Spying At Harvard, Boston Institutions

Two Chinese researchers were charged with being agents of a foreign government. They were Yanqing Ye, a Boston University robotics researcher who prosecutors said lied about being in the Chinese army, and Zaosong Zheng, a cancer researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who was arrested last month allegedly trying to smuggle research samples out of the country. Prosecutors said Ye is a lieutenant in the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which she did not disclose when she obtained a visa to enter the United States. She is accused of passing information on research conducted at Boston University to China's government. (1/28)

Masslive.Com: ‘Massive, Long-Term Campaign To Steal U.S. Technology’ Alleged As Chinese Lieutenant, Harvard University Professor, Researcher Accused Of Hiding Ties With China

In a separate case, the Department of Justice said Yanqing Ye, a lieutenant in the People’s Liberation Army had gained a non-immigrant visa to conduct studies at Boston University. According to court documents, Ye was conducting research in the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at the Center of Polymer Studies at Boston University. Authorities say on Ye’s visa application she misrepresented her foreign military service to gain entry to the U.S. (Bombard, 1/28)

Bloomberg: Harvard Prof Charles Lieber Accused Of Lying About China Ties

“China’s communist government’s goal simply put is to replace the United States as a superpower,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Boston Field Division, said at a press conference. “China is also using what we call nontraditional collectors such as researchers, hackers and front companies.” (Lawrence, Dolmetsch, and Nayak, 1/28)

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