A former chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department has recently been found guilty in federal court of several charges related to income he received from a recruitment program in China designed to further the country’s scientific development.
Dr. Charles Lieber, 62, was found guilty on Dec. 21 of two counts of making false statements to federal authorities, two counts of making and subscribing a false income tax return and two counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a U.S. Department of Justice press release said.
“This case (was) about false statements, false tax returns, and an unreported bank account in China,” Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick told jurors, as reported by Harvard Crimson.
Lieber was recruited as a ‘strategic scientist’ for Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) through China’s Thousand Talents Program, a prominent government initiative aimed at procuring talent from around the world to aid in “scientific development, economic prosperity and national security,” the release said. He was involved with WUT from at least 2012 to 2015.
“Under the terms of Lieber’s three-year Thousand Talents contract, WUT paid Lieber a salary of up to $50,000 per month, living expenses of up to $150,000 and awarded him more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab at WUT,” the release said. “In 2018 and 2019, Lieber lied to federal authorities about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan and his affiliation with WUT.”
Lieber failed to report income he received to the IRS and kept a bank account in China for portions of the funds to be deposited, the release said. The defendant did not report the account through an FBAR filing, which is required for foreign accounts holding more than $10,000 at any given time.
“The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000,” the release said. “The charge of making and subscribing false income tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine. The charge of failing to file an FBAR provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.”
Liebert’s sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
