US professor Simon Ang indicted over China links, faces 44 counts of fraud
- University of Arkansas academic was suspended and removed from director post after May 8 arrest by federal agents
- US authorities have been seeking to stem alleged theft of technology and trade secrets by researchers with ties to China
A suspended University of Arkansas professor has been indicted on multiple wire and passport fraud counts.
The 44-count indictment returned on Tuesday in Fayetteville, Arkansas, accuses Simon Saw-teong Ang of failing to disclose close ties to the Chinese government and Chinese companies when he obtained federal grants.
The university suspended the 63-year-old electrical engineering professor and removed him as director of the university’s High Density Electronics Centre after his May 8 arrest by federal agents.
Ang is free on a US$200,000 bond. A message to his lawyer was not immediately answered.
At the time of his arrest, federal authorities said Ang failed to disclose his ties on an application for a Nasa grant. Such materially false representations to Nasa and to the university led to numerous wire messages that facilitated a scheme to defraud, according to a federal complaint.