TheStrait版 - Prosecutor: Researcher stole cancer data for China |
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发帖数: 3150 | 1 http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-researcher-stole-cancer-data-c
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Medical College of Wisconsin researcher has been charged
with economic espionage after he stole samples of a cancer-fighting
compound and credited himself with its discovery in a grant application to
study in China, prosecutors said.
Hua Jun Zhao, 42, stole three vials of the C-25 powder compound from the
office of Marshall Anderson, a professor at the college in suburban
Milwaukee, with the intention of providing it to Zhejiang University in
China, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Zhao was a member Anderson's team researching whether the compound could
help to kill cancer cells without damaging healthy ones, school spokeswoman
Maureen Mack said.
Anderson noticed the vials were missing Feb. 22. School security video
showed Zhao was the only person who entered Anderson's office that day.
Federal investigators questioned Zhao about the vials on Feb. 27, but he
claimed he did not understand their questions, the complaint says. The
school immediately placed him on administrative leave.
Zhao's co-workers told the FBI that Zhao spoke excellent English and that he
had lived in the U.S. for many years. Mack declined to say how long Zhao
worked at the school and would not provide details of his immigration status
, referring questions to the FBI. Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday
with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office.
Zhao's wife lives in Zhejiang, according to the criminal complaint.
The stolen vials are worth $8,000, the complaint said.
Zhao was arrested March 29 and charged with economic espionage, which
carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. On
Monday he was ordered held at Milwaukee County Jail until trial. No trial
date has been set.
Messages were left Tuesday with Zhao's defense attorney, federal defender
Juval Scott, and with Anderson.
Zhao went to China in late December and returned mid-February, and since
then he has claimed on his resume that he's an assistant professor at
Zhejiang University, the complaint says.
After he was placed on administrative leave Zhao allowed the college to copy
files from his personal laptop, a thumb drive and an external hard drive.
Investigators found 384 files related to Anderson's research, as well as
research results from another professor from the school's cancer department.
Among the files was a grant application to a Chinese foundation that Zhao
wrote in Mandarin. In the application he said he discovered the C-25
compound and that he was seeking funding to continue his research in China.
Anderson told investigators the application was a verbatim translation of a
grant application he himself had written several years earlier in English.
School security staff told FBI agents that on the day of his suspension Zhao
also accessed school computers remotely and deleted files related to the C-
25 research. The college was able to recover the files. Zhao denied
accessing the server or deleting files and said he didn't understand the FBI
agents' questions.
Federal authorities subsequently searched Zhao's home and found a receipt
for shipment of a package to Zhao's wife along with two airline tickets from
Chicago to China leaving Tuesday, as well as an application to the National
Natural Science Foundation of China for research funding for C-25. |
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