Feds continue crackdown on China influence with charges against medical researcher

Former Cleveland Clinic Foundation employee Dr. Qing Wang has been charged with false claims and wire fraud pertaining to more than $3.6 million that the National Institutes of Health provided to Wang and his research group, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The criminal complaint states Wang failed to divulge his connection with China's Huazhong University of Science and Technology or reveal that he had gotten funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China for some of the same research for which NIH was supplying money.

The DOJ announcement also alleges that Wang was involved in China's Thousand Talents Program meant to engage individuals privy to the intellectual property or technology of other nations. 

Huazhong University of Science and Technology received $3 million from China as a result of Wang's entry into the program, DOJ also said. Wang purportedly also received free travel and housing when he visited China, including an on-campus apartment.

Wang was arrested on Wednesday. The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General were involved in the investigation.