US charges Nasa researcher linked to China’s talent programme with false statements and wire fraud
- Zhengdong Cheng, 53, a Texas A&M professor, was arrested Sunday for hiding such ties while conducting scientific research for Nasa
- The case is the latest targeting US-based academics for receiving benefits from China without telling their universities or the government
The US Justice Department announced the arrest Monday of a researcher in Texas for allegedly hiding his paid participation in a Chinese government talent recruitment programme while conducting scientific research for Nasa, the US space agency.
The arrest of Texas A&M University professor Zhengdong Cheng is the latest case in the department’s “China Initiative”, a sweeping campaign against US-based academics who have allegedly received payments, housing and other benefits from Chinese authorities without notifying their home universities or the US government about the extra income.
Cheng is facing criminal charges of conspiracy, making false statements and wire fraud. The false statement and conspiracy charges each carry a potential sentence of five years in prison; the wire fraud count carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years.
“Once again, we have witnessed the criminal consequences that can arise from undisclosed participation in the Chinese government’s talent programme,” John Demers, the assistant attorney general for national security, said.
The arrest on Sunday came a month after the Trump administration shut down the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas – about 95 miles southeast of Texas A&M, located in College Station – accusing it of being a base for Chinese spying operations in the US.
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The Justice Department did not say whether Cheng, 53, was a Chinese national or provide other background. But according to his webpage at Texas A&M, where he is a chemical engineering professor, Cheng received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Chinese universities before earning a PhD at Princeton in 1999.