Three Chinese researchers at the University of Michigan have been charged with conspiring to smuggle biological materials into the United States, according to federal authorities.
The researchers—Xu Bai, 28; Fengfan Zhang, 27; and Zhiyong Zhang, 30—held J-1 research visas and were working in the laboratory of Xianzhong “Shawn” Xu at UM. Investigators say that in 2024 and 2025, Bai and Fengfan Zhang received shipments from China containing biological materials linked to roundworms, which were sent by Chengxuan Han, a Chinese citizen and Ph.D. student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan.
Han later traveled to the U.S. to work in the same laboratory, pleaded no contest to three counts of smuggling and one count of making false statements, and was subsequently sentenced and deported. Federal authorities allege that Bai and Fengfan Zhang continued to receive packages from Han even after her removal.
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the alleged scheme a serious threat to U.S. national and agricultural security and emphasized that authorities remain vigilant against foreign nationals attempting to exploit U.S. research programs for illicit purposes.
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