A former senior scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was sentenced on Wednesday by a federal judge in New York to 30 days in prison for lying to the FBI that he was working on a China-funded project.
When asked by the FBI and NASA, 66-year-old Meiyappan lied about his work in the Chinese government-funded Thousand Talent Program, which aims to recruit people to access foreign technologies and intellectual property. .
Meiyappan, who pleaded guilty in January 2021, was also fined $100,000.
FBI Assistant Director William F. According to Sweeney Jr., members of US government agencies are prohibited from maintaining undisclosed contact with foreign companies, particularly companies seeking US intellectual property and technological advancement.
If NASA employees fail to disclose contacts with foreign companies, they could allow “malicious foreign actors” unauthorized access to US technologies, NASA Inspector General Special Agent Responsible Officer and Mark J. Zilinsky said.
A NASA spokesperson said in an email to Forbes: “NASA is committed to fulfilling its mission, protecting its mission, and fully complying with all applicable laws and regulations.”
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Audrey Strauss, a US attorney in the Southern District of New York, said she “failed to disclose her employment and participation in the Chinese government’s recruitment program in violation of relevant laws and regulations.” York. Meiyappan owns “sensitive and secret” government technologies and intellectual property.
important background
Meiyappan began working at NASA in 1996, and in 2006 became chief of research science and technology at the Nanotechnology Center at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. He has been a professor at universities in China, South Korea and Japan. In violation of the rules, NASA and the U.S. Without disclosing these ties to the government’s office of ethics. According to his profile on the NASA website, which is active as of Thursday morning, Meiyappan has authored or written more than 320 articles in reviewed journals, is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and has received several other prestigious Presidential Awards. Both the United States and Canada have expressed concerns that the project, which sponsors the scientists’ research, is designed to steal intellectual property.
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In early 2020, Charles Lieber, a nanotechnologist and head of the department of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University, was arrested for revealing his contacts with Chinese universities and participating in thousands of talents. Department of Health Institutions and Safety. Libre is facing a federal investigation into allegations of misrepresentation and tax offenses for reporting alleged income from Chinese state-owned enterprises.
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$600 billion. China is the primary source of such piracy, as is the U.S. The Intelligence Theft Commission estimates that theft of intellectual property in the U.S. economy spends annually.
