The United States has sentenced a researcher to prison for stealing secret research data from Children's Hospital of Ohio and selling it to China. Her husband was also involved .
Researcher Li Chen pleaded guilty in July 2020. According to her confession, she participated in a conspiracy to commit fraud and to steal scientific trade secrets from the Nationwide Children's Hospital Research Centerfor personal financial gain.
The 47-year-old defendant was sentenced in recent days to 30 months in prison by a US.
Li Chen worked at the Research Center from 2007 to 2017. Her 50-year-old husband and partner in the fraud, Yu Zhou, also worked there from 2008 to 2018, but in a different lab.
The two decided to steal research data on exosomes, which play a key role in the research, detection and treatment of a range of diseases, to sell them to China and make money.
According to court documents, the researcher stole scientific evidenceand tried to make money by creating and selling “exosome isolation kits.”
The researcher set up a company in China to sell the kits and received various benefits from the Chinese government, including membership in the Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs and the National Natural Science Foundation. In addition, she participated in the Chinese government's so-called talent plans , which, according to the US Department of Justice, use their members to transfer foreign research and technological secrets to the Chinese government.
In addition to the prison sentence, Chen must pay $2.6 million in restitution. The researcher will also forfeit some of her shares in Avalon GloboCare Corp. and GenExosome TechnologiesInc.
“ These sentences should deter anyone else from committing similar acts. The FBI will work closely with our partners to ensure that the United States remains a global leader in science and technology innovation,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman.
Her husband, Zhou, and she were arrested in California in July 2019.Zhou has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Source: Infosecurity Magazine
