Arrest of Los Alamos scientist opens new front in crackdown on Chinese infiltration of U.S. labs.

Turab Lookman, 67, of Santa Fe, N.M., made an initial appearance in federal court today on charges of making false official statements about his involvement with a program established by the Chinese government to recruit people with access to and knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property.

The FBI arrested Lookman yesterday after a grand jury indicted him on Wednesday on three counts of making false official statements about being recruited by and applying to participate in China’s Thousand Talents Program for personal compensation. The indictment alleges that Lookman made false statements about his involvement with China’s Thousand Talents Program on an employment questionnaire, in a debriefing with a Los Alamos National Laboratory counterintelligence officer, and to an investigator from the National Background Investigation Bureau/Office of Personnel Management.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Lookman is currently in custody pending a detention hearing on Tuesday. He faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

Several previous DOJ cases since then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his China Initiative in November 2018 have focused on intellectual-property theft from the private sector, Chinese state-sponsored hacking and Chinese recruitment of former U.S. intelligence officers. Cracking down on Chinese efforts to obtain information on basic scientific research is another, apparently new part of the initiative.

“The Department of Justice takes all instances of lying to federal officials seriously. It is especially important to do so when an individual lies about his involvement with a program established by the Chinese government to recruit people with access to and knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property,” said John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, in a statement emailed to Yahoo News.

“The Department’s China Initiative is squarely focused on protecting America’s economic security against China’s continued malfeasance. All businesses, academic and research institutions must be on the lookout for individuals in their organizations with divided loyalties, whether due to their participation in the Thousand Talents program or otherwise,” he continued.

(((Paul Linnenburger))), Lookman’s attorney from the firm (((Rothstein))) Donatelli, told Yahoo News that “Dr. Lookman entered a plea of not guilty and we fully intend to mount a vigorous defense.”

https://news.yahoo.com/arrest-of-los-alamos-scientist-opens-new-front-in-crackdown-on-chinese-infiltration-of-us-labs-172208027.html

Gov sauce:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/former-los-alamos-national-laboratory-scientist-charged-making-false-official-statements