University of Arkansas
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The United States' Justice Department arrested an Arkansas professor for allegedly accepting funds from a program affiliated with the Chinese Government.

U.S. officials arrested and charged 63-year-old Simon Saw-Teong Ang with wire fraud over 'hiding his secret ties' with China. He was reportedly employed by various Chinese companies and was selected by the Thousand Talents program. The organization grants funds to scientists who can foster relationships with the Chinese government.

Ang received grant money from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) but failed to disclose his ties when required to do so. According to court documents, he also warned an associate to keep his affiliation a secret.

Court papers said Ang secured other grants from American agencies that he was supposedly ineligible for due to his ties with the Chinese government.

The professor received more than $5 million from American government agencies for various research projects. He failed to disclose receiving payments from Chinese universities and companies.

Ang did disclose some of his work related to the Chinese government but failed to cite all affiliations. He previously worked for a Chinese university and electronics technology companies.

He was caught after a researcher from Xidian University in China wrote a letter and sent it to his personal email account and university address. A UA librarian discovered the email through the university's portal.

The FBI collaborated with Arkansas' Western District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General for National Security to arrest the professor.

The 63-year-old was booked into the Washington County Jail on Friday. Ang could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His jail term will depend on factors including whether he has previously faced criminal charges.

UA spokesman Mark Rushing said the university decided to suspend Ang without pay. He was also suspended from his position as the institution's director for the High-Density Electronics Center.

Simon Ang was born in Malaysia. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas. He also studied at the Southern Methodist University to earn his doctorate. He worked at Texas Instruments prior to teaching at his alma mater in the electrical engineering department. He joined the University of Arkansas faculty team in 1988 where he was tasked with power grid security research.

A similar FBI crackdown case occured at a university in Atlanta where a professor faced felony charges after he filed a false tax return. He also failed to disclose the $500,000 grant from the Thousand Talents program. He pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to pay $35,000 in restitution and serve a year of probation.

Earlier this year, the chair of Harvard's chemistry department was also arrested after lying about his ties to the Chinese government through the Thousand Talents program. He reportedly failed to list funding he received from China, Russia, and other American adversaries which amounted to $375 million.

The cases are the FBI's response after receiving reports about Beijing giving grants to researchers who have direct access to scientific information. The U.S. law enforcement agency started scouring institutions for academics who allegedly gathered intelligence for the Chinese government.

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