Feds charge MIT prof with grant fraud
Allegedly hid work with China
An MIT professor who allegedly hid his relationship with the Chinese government while securing millions of dollars in grants from the U.S. and abroad was arrested and charged with fraud on Thursday, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling.
Gang Chen, 56, of Cambridge was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud, failing to file a foreign bank account report and making a false statement in a tax return.
Over the past eight years, Chen has allegedly received $19 million in U.S. federal grants and $29 million in foreign funding, and did not disclose his work with China to MIT or the U.S. government.
“Chen not only hid the extent of his own affiliations with the Chinese government, but actively worked to further the goals of the Chinese government while employed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” Lelling said during a press conference.
Chen, an expert in nanotechnology and a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, reportedly held various positions with the Chinese government to promote the country’s scientific development in exchange for money.
“The Chinese government would rather siphon off U.S. technology instead of doing the work themselves,” Lelling said.
Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston
Division said, “It has become much too commonplace that the Communist Party of China thinks they can conduct illegal activity and bend people here in the United States to its will in order to try and surpass our country as the world’s leading superpower.”
Chen served as director of the MIT Pappalardo Micro/Nano Engineering Laboratory and director of the Solid-State Solar Thermal Energy Conversion Center.
He acted as an “overseas expert” for the Chinese government and
served as a member of at least two Chinese talent programs.
From 2017 to 2019 when Chen was serving in several advisory roles for China, he got a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund his MIT research and allegedly hid the connections to China.
MIT said it is “deeply distressed” by Chen’s arrest.
“MIT believes the integrity of research is a fundamental responsibility, and we take seriously concerns about improper influence in U.S. research. Prof. Chen is a longserving
and highly respected member of the research community, which makes the government’s allegations against him all the more distressing,” the school said in a statement.
An email seeking comment was sent to Chen’s attorney.
Chen is also charged with tax fraud for allegedly failing to disclose a Chinese bank account with more than $10,000.