NPR

Acclaimed Harvard Scientist Is Arrested, Accused Of Lying About Ties To China

An FBI agent says China's deal with Charles Lieber, the chair of Harvard University's chemistry department, paid him up to $50,000 monthly, along with another $150,000 per year.

Updated at 3:20 p.m. ET

Charles Lieber, the chair of Harvard University's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, has been arrested and criminally charged with making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the U.S. Defense Department about his ties to a Chinese government program to recruit foreign scientists and researchers.

The Justice Department says Lieber, 60, lied about his contact with the Chinese program known as the Thousand Talents Plan, which the U.S. has previously flagged as a serious intelligence concern. He also is accused of lying about about a lucrative

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min read
Floods In Southern Brazil Kill At Least 75 People Over 7 Days
Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday.
NPR2 min read
Mystik Dan Wins The Kentucky Derby By A Nose
In a close finish, Mystik Dan won the Kentucky Derby by a horse's nostril over Sierra Leone. Contenders waited with bated breath in the seconds before the official decision was made. The thoroughbred had entered the race with 18-1 odds — a longshot c
NPR2 min readWorld
Ukraine's Zelenskyy Calls God An "Ally" Against Russia In Orthodox Easter Message
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians in an Easter address to be united in prayer and called God an "ally" in the war with Russia.

Related Books & Audiobooks