Wuhan Ph.D. student pleads no contest to smuggling roundworm bio‑material to Michigan lab
A Chinese national has pleaded guilty to smuggling biological materials into the United States and making false statements to Customs and Border Protection officers, federal authorities have announced.
Chengxuan Han’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10 as she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for smuggling, while making false statements carries a punishment of up to five years.
A Chinese national has pleaded guilty to smuggling biological materials into the United States and making false statements to Customs and Border Protection officers, federal authorities have announced.
Chengxuan Han, a Ph.D. candidate at a university in Wuhan, China, admitted to sending multiple packages containing biological material related to roundworms to individuals connected to a University of Michigan laboratory both this year and last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Aug. 19.
Upon arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in June on a J1 visa, Han provided false statements to CBP officers and deleted material from her electronic device.
Han’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Smuggling carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while making false statements carries up to five years, according to a DOJ press release.
“This alien from Wuhan, China smuggled round worms and other biomaterials into our country on three separate occasions to circumvent our border protections. One of those times, she wrote that she was sending ‘a fun letter,’” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. stated in the release.
“The University of Michigan invited this Chinese national into our state to be a visiting scholar,” Gorgon added. “Something is wrong in Ann Arbor.”
Federal authorities also emphasized the national security risks posed by smuggling biological materials and pledged continued coordination across federal agencies to protect U.S. institutions and public safety.
This is not the first time the university has been connected to smuggling by Chinese nationals.
In June, two Chinese citizens, Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and visa fraud for attempting to bring a potential agroterrorism agent into the U.S. through Michigan.
Jian allegedly received Chinese government funding, while Liu conducted related research in China. Gorgon said at the time that their alleged crimes were among the “gravest national security concerns.”
Lawmakers probed Michigan researchers following the charges against the Chinese nationals, scrutinizing the lab, the involved professors, and the $9.6 million they received in federal research funding.
[RELATED: DOJ charges another Chinese national in connection to University of Michigan lab]
Following the arrests, the university faced a federal investigation over undisclosed foreign funding and potential national security risks.
Michigan has also been a significant beneficiary of foreign funding. In July, a Campus Reform audit showed that the university received over $270 million from 38 foreign nations in the past decade, including major contributions from China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
