University of Kansas professor who concealed ties to China has three of four convictions tossed by judge
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Five months later a Federal Jury Convicted A judge has thrown out three of four convictions against a University of Kansas researcher for illegally hiding the work he did for China.
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled Tuesday that Feng “Franklin” Tao was guilty of making a false statement but not of three counts of wire fraud.
Feng Tao, also known as Franklin Tao, 50, was indicted by a federal jury on three counts of wire fraud and perjury after concealing that he was employed by a government-affiliated university in China. Convicted on one count of making statements.
(University of Kansas/Kelsey Kimberlin/Handout by Reuters)
Worked for Tao Fuzhou University in China While he was employed at the University of Kansas. However, Robinson determined that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence Tao was paid for his Fuzhou University work, which is a requirement to plead guilty to wire fraud.
A former Kansas University professor was found guilty of concealing ties to China
“During the duration of the alleged fraud scheme, Tau continued to rightfully receive his salary from KU for his services and continued to successfully conduct research required by his research grants to the DOE and NSF,” Robinson said. wrote
Tao began working for Fuzhou University in 2018, accepting a position as the Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor.
September 10, 2016: A view of the campus shortly before the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Ohio Bobcats at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, KS.
(Photo by Nick Tree. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
When Tao moved to China to work full-time at Fuzhou, he said University of Kansas Officials said he was in Europe.
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Officials said Tao also hid his employment at Fuzhou University from the University of Kansas, despite being required to file a formal report on any employment involving a conflict of interest. Tau conducted the research in Kansas using government grants, including millions of dollars in payment requests to the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
Tao was convicted as part of the Justice Department. The now defunct China Initiative. The DOJ shut down the program, which was designed to prevent Chinese espionage in the U.S., after accusations of bias against Chinese professors in February.
Adam Sibbs of The Associated Press and Fox News contributed to this report.