University of Arkansas professor Simon Saw-Teong Ang has pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the FBI about the existence of numerous patents for his inventions in the People's Republic of China (PRC), a news release said.
Ang, 64, is a former electrical engineering professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. In exchange for his Jan. 21 guilty plea, prosecutors dropped multiple counts of wire fraud based on ties to China, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette said.
School policy requires complete disclosures of inventions. This policy was established "in furtherance of the commitment of the university to the widest possible distribution of the benefits of university research, the protection of inventions resulting from such research and the development of inventions for the public good," school officials said in a news release.
Ang faces a maximum of five years behind bars when he is sentenced by a federal court judge later this year, a news release said. According to Inside Higher Ed, the plea agreement said that "a sentence of one day and one year incarceration is the appropriate sentence in this matter," along with a $5,500 fine.
Inside Higher Ed also said Ang denied being the inventor associated with 24 patents filed in China and that Ang said in the plea agreement: "Yeah, I am not the inventor, I don't even know what that is."
Defense Attorney Drew Ledbetter said that Ang assisted with a family business and was not paid for his contribution, according to Inside Higher Ed.
"Dr. Ang's brother had a small LED light bulb company based in Singapore," Ledbetter said. "Dr. Ang served in an unpaid position as chief technology officer to help his brother's business. The University of Arkansas was aware of Dr. Ang's commitment to his brother and his position in the company. The patents were related to this company. Dr. Ang was not materially enriched in any way."
The investigation was overseen by several federal agencies, a news release said, including the FBI and the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
