A Harvard University professor has been convicted by a Boston jury of hiding his involvement with a lucrative Chinese recruiting program — which sought experts in various fields, including technology — to protect his career and reputation.
Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, was found guilty on several counts — including making false statements, filing false tax returns and failing to report foreign bank and financial accounts, or FBAR.
Lieber, 62, was arrested by federal agents in early 2020 and pleaded not guilty at trial.
Prosecutors argued that Lieber hid his involvement in China’s “Thousand Talents Plan,” a program to recruit experts in foreign technologies and intellectual property.
For his involvement in the program, Lieber was paid up to $50,000 per month and received up to $150,000 in living expenses. He was also given more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab in China, authorities said.
“The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“The charge of making and subscribing false income tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine. The charge of failing to file an FBAR provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.”
Lieber was an investigator at the Leiber Research Group, which authorities say received more than $15 million in funding from the Pentagon and the National Institutes of Health without disclosing foreign financial conflicts of interests.
It wasn’t immediately announced when Lieber will be sentenced.
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Should we be surprised a college prof has ties to Communist China ?
I am shocked he was the ONLY one charged…
conflicts of interest neither exist or occur under this administration. When those in charge have no ethics, decency, honesty or morality they do not see evil or wrongdoing, only more power.
“Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department . . .”
Wonder if he dabbled in the COVID fiasco??
Well, he DOES HAVE TIES to the Wuhan institute of tech…
“Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department”. “Lieber was an investigator at the Leiber Research Group, which authorities say received more than $15 million in funding from the Pentagon and the National Institutes of Health”. This is the garbage at Harvard and this is the garbage that gets funding from the Pentagon, a communist traitor!
NOTE, that it was NOT THAT HE GOT paid by china, that was teh crime..
IT WAS THAT HE ‘didn’t pay taxes’ on it, that was..
The Chinese have corrupted many many more American academics than this little tip of the iceberg. In addition, both Chinese students and profs sent to America are instructed to steal intellectual property, either coerced or as devoted communists. US academics giving them access to sensitive data are either paid off traitors or the most naive dumbos on the planet.
WE shouldn’t have ever LET FOREIGN nations even ‘invest’ in our schools… PERIOD!