Renowned Harvard Scientist Charged With Not Disclosing China Ties

CAMBRIDGE, MA — The chair of the Harvard University chemistry department was charged with lying to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese university, prosecutors said. Charles Lieber was arrested Tuesday morning before prosecutors unsealed a criminal complaint alleging he lied to the Defense Department and the National Institutes of Health about participating in China’s Thousand Talents Plan. He is accused of receiving up to $50,000 a month from the Chinese government.

Lieber, 60, is the chair of Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He is scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Boston Tuesday.

Two Chinese nationals were also charged in the case. Zaosong Zheng was arrested at Logan Airport last month and found with with 21 vials of biomedical research stolen from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, prosecutors said. Yanqing Ye, who conducted research at Boston University, was charged Tuesday with lying about her status with the Chinese military when she applied for her visa. She currently in China and not in U.S. custody.

The charges are part of a wide-ranging effort to stop biomedical research from being stolen for China. Lieber's case is particularly noteworthy, as he is not of Chinese descent and is more widely renowned than others charged, The New York Times reported. The Times also reported Lieber helped found the WUT-Harvard Joint Nano Key Laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Technology in China.

Lieber moved to Harvard in 1991. The Philadelphia native is a leading mind in nanotechnology, according to his university bio. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Lieber wasn't a spy, but was "simply corrupted by money," according to WBZ.