DETROIT — Federal prosecutors accused two Chinese scientists of smuggling into the United States a “dangerous” fungus that causes a disease in crops so that one of them could research the pathogen at a University of Michigan laboratory.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The complaint, affidavit, and other documents were unsealed on June 3.
The two researchers were in a romantic relationship in July 2024 when Liu entered the U.S. with small bags of Fusarium graminearum in his backpack, according to the complaint. Liu later admitted that he planned to use the fungus for research at a laboratory at the University of Michigan, where Jian worked.
Both Jian and Liu had researched the pathogen as university students in China, according to the complaint. The fungus, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon, can be used to target food crops, the affidavit states.
The toxic fungus causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a news release. The toxins the fungus produces can cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in livestock and humans.
Jian appeared in federal court on June 3 and was temporarily detained. A detention hearing is set for June 5, according to court records.
Attorney Senad Ramovic, who represented Jian at her initial appearance, had no comment. No attorney was listed in court records for Liu, who is believed to be in China and remains at large.
In a statement on June 3, the University of Michigan said it condemns “any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission.”
“It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals,” the university added. “We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.”
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Affidavit: Fungus found in clear plastic baggies in backpack
Jian, who obtained a doctorate in plant pathogens from Zhejiang University in China, received money from a Chinese foundation largely funded by the Chinese government to conduct postdoctoral work, according to the affidavit. The work included research on a particular biological pathogen that can cause devastating diseases in crops.
Her boyfriend, Liu, works at Zhejiang University in China and conducts research on the same biological pathogen, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states that Liu arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on July 27, 2024, with the fungus.
The court filing alleges that Liu made false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers when questioned about the reason for his visit and his knowledge of the product in his possession. He admitted to smuggling it in so he could conduct research on it at the university where Jian worked, according to the affidavit.
Officers found a wad of tissues in a small pocket in Liu’s backpack. The tissues “concealed a note in Chinese, a round piece of filter paper with a series of circles drawn on it, and four clear plastic baggies with small clumps of reddish plant material inside,” according to the affidavit.
Liu initially said he didn’t know what the materials were and that someone must have put them in his bag, according to the court filing. He later said he accidentally put them in there and, after further questioning, acknowledged the materials were different strains of the pathogen.
According to the affidavit, Liu said he planned to clone the different strains on the filter paper and make more samples if the experiments on the reddish plant material failed. The affidavit indicated Liu said he hid the samples in his backpack because he knew there were restrictions on the materials. He said he would have free access to the University of Michigan lab on some days, the filing continued, and Jian would give him access to the lab to conduct the research.
Customs officers seized Liu’s electronic devices and determined he was inadmissible to the United States, according to the affidavit. Officers denied Liu entry and processed him for expedited removal back to China.
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Federal authorities say neither researcher had a permit to import fungus
Jian is accused of falsely claiming that she knew nothing about Liu’s smuggling or his intent to conduct research during his visit, court filings showed. The affidavit indicates the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires a permit for the importation of the fungus and that neither Liu nor Jian ever applied for such a permit.
“In fact, an examination of electronic communications between LIU and JIAN shows that the two discussed the shipping of biological materials and research being done in the laboratory prior to LIU’s arrival,” according to the affidavit. “Electronic evidence also shows that JIAN has been involved in smuggling packages of biological material into the United States on prior occasions.”
Jian was allowed to enter the United States on a J-1 visa to conduct research as a postdoctoral scholar at a laboratory at a university in Texas, where she was a postdoctoral fellow from August 2022 to August 2023, according to the affidavit.
In 2023, the affidavit states that the University of Michigan offered her a position as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory in Ann Arbor. Her employment there began around August 2023,
Liu told federal authorities that he knew two principal investigators overseeing the lab because he conducted research with them at the university in Texas and at the University of Michigan in the past, according to the affidavit. Liu also worked in the same labs at both schools from August 2022 until April 2024.
The affidavit indicates that Liu co-authored several academic articles with Jian and the two principal investigators from the University of Michigan lab, with at least four articles that he co-authored regarding Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium oxysporum.
The affidavit added that in March 2024, Liu submitted an application for a B-2 tourist visa and was asked in the application whether he would seek to “engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, or any other illegal activity while in the United States?” He answered no, and his tourist visa was approved.
The court filing indicates that a tourist visa does not permit a foreign national to perform work or scientific research during their visit to the U.S. or import a biological pathogen into the country.
An FBI search of Jian’s cellphone revealed a 2023 Zhejiang University faculty and staff work assessment form, an annual self-assessment, that she signed in January 2024. The document described her membership and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, according to the affidavit, and detailed her research accomplishments in the prior year as a postdoctoral scholar for Zhejiang University.
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals — including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party — are of the gravest national security concerns,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement.
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Charges come amid the Trump administration’s visa crackdown
The criminal charges come amid growing tensions between the United States and China over the Trump administration’s visa crackdown on Chinese international students. The Trump administration has ramped up deportations and has targeted international students as part of wide-ranging efforts to fulfill its hardline immigration agenda.
In late May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States will start “aggressively” revoking visas of Chinese students, just days after President Donald Trump demanded the “names and countries” of international students from Harvard University.
“The U.S. Department of State will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” Rubio said in a statement on May 28.
Rubio added that the State Department will revise visa criteria to enhance “scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
The move is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing feud with the Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On May 29, a federal judge said she planned to issue a longer-term halt on the administration’s effort to bar Harvard from enrolling international students.
Harvard previously called the federal government’s action “unlawful” and said the school was committed to educating foreign students, of which Chinese nationals form the largest group at the university.
The charges against the two Chinese researchers also follow the detainment of Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova, a Russian national who was charged for allegedly attempting to smuggle non-living lab samples into the United States. Petrova has sued the Trump administration for her monthslong ICE detention.
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Chinese researchers charged with smuggling harmful fungus into the US
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