Federal jury convicts Harvard professor of concealing ties to Chinese university News
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Federal jury convicts Harvard professor of concealing ties to Chinese university

The former chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was found guilty by a federal jury Tuesday of lying to authorities about his connections to China and one of its universities, according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Charles Leiber was convicted by a jury in the US District Court for the Federal District of Massachusetts of two counts of making false statements to federal authorities, two counts of counts of making and subscribing a false income tax return and two counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts with the Internal Revenue Service. The charges all stem from Leiber’s work with China’s Thousand Talents Program and with the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT). In addition to lying about his connections to both, Leiber failed to report the income he received from the university.

According to the DOJ, Leiber served as principal investigator at the Lieber Research Group at Harvard University, which received more than $15 million in federal research grants between 2008 and 2019. At the same time, Leiber was working as a “strategic scientist” for WUT and later participated in the Thousand Talents Program, which is designed to attract high-level scientific talent in China in furtherance of the country’s goals.

Leiber’s three-year contract with the Thousand Talents program provided him with a monthly salary from WUT of up to $50,000, living expenses up to $150,000 and $1.5 million to establish a research lab. According to the DOJ, Leiber opened a Chinese bank account in 2012 with the help of WUT officials. Over the following three years, WUT periodically deposited portions of Leiber’s salary into that account.

US taxpayers must report the existence of foreign bank accounts over $10,000 with the IRS, which Leiber failed to do in 2014 and 2015. The Department of Justice said he lied to federal authorities about his involvement with WUT and the Thousand Talents program in 2018 and 2019.

Leiber is facing up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 for each of the false statement charges. Charges of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts with the IRS carry the same penalties. The charge of making and subscribing false income tax returns provide for a prison sentence of up to three years, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine.

Leiber was indicted on these charges in June 2020. He will be sentenced at a later date, which has yet to be scheduled.

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