After receiving millions from Beijing, the head of Harvard University’s Chemistry Department was found guilty of lying about his connections to Chinese research.
Charles Lieber (62), flew from Wuhan with cash bags containing up to $100,000 after a contract to share his expertise in nanoscience with Chinese academics.
His involvement in The Thousand Talents Plan, which was designed by China’s Communist Party to attract high-ranking researchers and scientists in other countries for intelligence-finance back to Beijing, led to his arrest in January.
Lieber denied involvement in his interrogation by US authorities. This included the National Institutes of Health, (NIH) which provided millions of dollars for research funding to his department.
His income was hidden from the Chinese Program, which included $50,000 per Month from Wuhan University of Technology. Up to $158,000 for living expenses, and over $1.5 Million in grants.
Charles Lieber (62), was outside Boston court on Tuesday and described to the FBI his flight from Wuhan with bags stuffed with $100,000 cash. He had made a deal with his Nanoscience Experts to help him travel to Boston.
Lieber (photo taken in 2012) was at Harvard the Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology during his arrest
Lieber had pleaded not guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of making false statements, and two counts of failing to file reports for a foreign bank account in China.
After five days of witness testimony at Boston federal court, the jury deliberated for approximately two hours and 45 seconds before issuing its verdict Tuesday.
Prosecutors claimed Lieber knew he was involved in China’s Thousand Talents Plan.
It was initiated by the Chinese government and declared a national security threat by the US.
Jurors were told by the prosecution that while participating in the program is not criminal, concealing his funds from the Chinese entity was illegal.
He led the Lieber Research Group at Harvard which has collected more than $15 million in grants from the NIH and the Department of Defense.
Lieber stated to FBI agents, on the morning before his arrest: he was paid for travel expenses only by Wuhan university.
But his account quickly changed at the campus police station when he was handed a copy of the five-year agreement he signed with the Wuhan University of Technology in 2011, agreeing his $50,000 monthly salary plus living expenses.
Lieber, during the interview of January 28, 2020 said, “That’s quite damning.”
According to him, he traveled from Wuhan with bags filled up with cash. It was between $50,000 and $100,000. The money was never reported to the IRS.
Lieber said that he couldn’t believe he did it when he was shown an email requesting payment in part in cash, and in part in a Chinese bank account.
According to The Boston Globe: “I think I just put it into my bag and took it back.”
According to the professor, who is battling cancer for over a decade, he called the Chinese bank balance checker in 2014 because he felt sick and worried about his family’s financial future.
While he said that the balance of his account was approximately $200,000, he decided not to take any.
He stated to the FBI, “I didn’t need it” and “I guess because it wasn’t the right decision,”
Lieber was appointed to the Thousand Talents Plan – a plan devised and implemented by Xi Jinping’s Communist Party for science and technology secrets.
Prosecutors say Lieber was pledged $1.5 million to set up a joint Harvard-Wuhan research lab at the Chinese university, but failed to tell Harvard about the agreement.
Lieber stated that he was unable to contact Wuhan University after 2016.
Another e-mail was sent to him by agents. He told an American professor from China that he wouldn’t share details about his work with Harvard.
Lieber stated to agents, “You are right. It was wrong.” Lieber said, “I was afraid of getting arrested. I’m right now.”
Prosecutors claim Lieber received a promise of up to $1.5million to set up a Harvard-Wuhan joint research laboratory at the Chinese university. Harvard was not informed.
Lieber informed the agents that he hadn’t had much contact with Wuhan university since 2016.
Harvard had placed Lieber on ‘indefinite’ paid leave in January and said it was cooperating with the authorities, as well as conducting its own review of the misconduct.
Lieber from Harvard University’s nanotechnology department arrives at the courthouse on Tuesday
Marc Mukasey was Lieber’s defence attorney. He argued that the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence to prove his charges.
He claimed that the investigators did not keep records of any interviews they conducted with Lieber before his arrest.
He claimed that the prosecution would not be able to show that Lieber had acted “knowingly, intentionally, and/or willfully” or that Lieber made any materially false statements.
Mukasey also stated that Lieber wasn’t accused of illegally transferring technology or proprietary data to China.
It is one of the most prominent cases to be brought up by the U.S. Department of Justice’s so called ‘China Initiative.
China’s economic spying efforts were criticized for affecting academic research and racial profiling.
Many faculty from Stanford, Yale and Princeton signed letters to U.S. attorney General Merrick Garland requesting that he end this initiative.
According to academics, the move has made the country less competitive in technology research and has had an adverse effect on the ability of foreign researchers to apply for jobs.
In the letters, they complain about how investigations disproportionally target researchers from China.