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Federal law enforcement charged another three University of Michigan researchers from China on smuggling accusations.
The “research scholars” were charged “with conspiracy to smuggle biological materials into the United States and for making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers,” according to a Nov. 5 statement from the Department of Justice.
“Charged were Xu Bai, 28, Fengfan Zhang, 27 and Zhiyong Zhang, 30. Bai and F. Zhang were charged with conspiracy to smuggle biological materials into the United States and Z. Zhang was charged with making false statements to federal agents,” the DOJ announced. “All three men were research scholars holding J-1 visas who were conducting research at the UM laboratory of Xianzhong Xu, commonly referred to as the Shawn Xu laboratory.”
“These are the latest charges in a long string of cases stemming from University of Michigan (UM) international research activities,” the Justice Department noted.
“Bai and F. Zhang were the recipients of multiple shipments containing concealed biological materials related to round worms which had been sent from the PRC to the United States by Chengxuan Han, a citizen of the PRC,” the DOJ alleged.
The College Fix previously covered Han’s story. She has since left the country after pleading “no contest” to the criminal charges, according to the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors also accused University of Michigan researcher Yungqing Jian of smuggling in a crop fungus deemed an “agroterrorism weapon,” as The Fix previously reported. Jian is set to be sentenced this month, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“The alarming incidents involving Chinese researchers connected to the University of Michigan warrant further investigation by university officials and the federal law enforcement and national security communities,” Dan Lips told The Fix in June. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and worked for the FBI.
The school previously announced in June it was “fully cooperating” on the recent charges brought against its researchers and was “reexamining internal protocols to determine how to improve training and provide additional guidance.”
Unrelated to these researchers, Chinese nationals at the University of Michigan have also faced accusations of illegal voting and of lying to law enforcement after being caught taking photos at a military base.
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