U.S. student charged with downloading cancer research for China
Education // Healthcare and Public Health // Wisconsin, United States
A Medical College of Wisconsin researcher has been charged with stealing a possible cancer-fighting compound and data that led to its development -- all to benefit a Chinese university.
The man was arrested March 30 and charged with economic espionage.
He worked as an associate researcher at the college, assisting a professor by conducting experiments in pharmacology.
On Feb. 22, the prof set down three pill bottle-size containers of a cancer research compound, “C-25,” and later noticed they were missing from his desk. After searching extensively for the bottles, he reported them lost or stolen on Feb. 26.
On March 1, the authorities and the suspect went through “his computer, hard drive and flash drive, where 384 items related to [the professor’s] C-25 research were discovered and deleted. He also had some research from another professor in the Hematology/Oncology department, without permission.”
The accused also had remotely accessed the Medical College servers and deleted the prof’s raw data from the C-25 research, information the college was later able to restore.
He “denied stealing any research or deleting data, and again said he did not understand the questions, though his co-workers told investigators [he] spoke excellent English and had lived in the United States several years.”
Among the suspect’s paperwork, investigators found more C-25 research and “a grant application, written in Mandarin, claiming he had discovered the compound and seeking more Chinese funding to continue research. . .the application was identical to one he had submitted years earlier, in English.”
His attorney, Juval Scott, said, "In this earliest stage of a complex case involving a talented professional accused of a serious crime, we look forward to rolling up our sleeves” on the suspect’s behalf.