FAYETTEVILLE – Attorneys for former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville professor Simon Ang are seeking to prevent testimony about Chinese government "talent plans" from being heard at his trial on wire fraud and other charges.
The flurry of court filings ahead of Ang's trial, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, reveal sharp divisions between the prosecution and defense attorneys over what sort of testimony and evidence is relevant to Ang's case.
The longtime electrical engineering professor faces 55 counts of wire fraud, most related to his pursuit of NASA and U.S. Air Force research grants. Prosecutors in court documents have stated that Ang failed to disclose to government funding agencies and to UA ties to China and Chinese companies.
FBI Director Christopher Wray in a 2020 talk described Chinese talent programs as a government effort "to entice scientists to secretly bring our knowledge and innovation back to China."
Ang "was a participant in the 'Thousand Talent Program,'" states a motion filed by his attorney on Jan. 3.
But while the U.S. Department of Justice in recent years has pursued economic espionage charges against some researchers working in the U.S., no such charges have been filed against Ang.
The motion filed by Ang's attorney, Drew Ledbetter, asks the court to specifically block any reference to the Thousand Talents Program.
Ang's motion states that "it is anticipated" that prosecutors intend to use his "affiliation with the program with nefarious, prejudicial, inflammatory and/or politicized purposes, only."
Ledbetter, based in Fayetteville, did not respond to questions from a reporter about the filings, but he said Ang is 64 years old and has been a U.S. citizen since 1986. Ang is Malaysian by birth, Ledbetter said.
In November, prosecutors filed a notice with the court that they may call as an expert witness Emily Weinstein, described as an independent consultant on "talent programs" sponsored by the People's Republic of China, sometimes referred to as the PRC.
Ang's motion goes on to state: "There are no allegations in the Superseding Indictment that by Defendant's participation in the program, he committed a crime."
However, the court document listing charges against Ang filed in July as a superseding indictment states that Ang "received large sums of money" from the People's Republic of China as "part of the scheme and artifice to defraud."
The indictment filed by prosecutors states that Ang "saved a document on a portable hard drive he controlled which stated in Chinese 'I have received the one-time 'Thousand Talents Program' expert's grant of 1 million yuan from the central finance department.'"
Based on current exchange rate information, that works out to about $150,000.
The indictment also states that Ang in 2018 was part of an ownership group for a China-based company making glass coating materials for car windshields and solar panels, with payments from the company going to a limited liability company formed by Ang.
In addition to charges related to Ang's pursuit of U.S. research grants, other counts of wire fraud relate to the limited liability company said to have been set up by Ang and also university salary payments made to him, according to the indictment.
The wire transactions listed in the indictment add up to $515,548 in NASA grant money, $1,074,811 in Air Force grants, $31,830 in UA salary paid to Ang and $88,000 in payments made to Ang's limited liability company.
Ang also has been charged with two counts of making a false statement in application and use of a passport, as well as two counts of making a false statement.
The indictment against Ang states that he told an FBI agent in May 2020 he was not the holder of Chinese patents, but the court document states that Ang is listed as the inventor for "numerous" patents in China.
Ang has formally denied all charges in his court plea.
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/jan/10/lawyers-seek-exclusions-in-ex-ua-professors-wire/