Harvard University Professor Indicted on False Statement Charges

The former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was indicted today on charges of making false statements to federal authorities regarding his participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program.

Dr. Charles Lieber, 61, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of making false statements and will be arraigned in federal court in Boston at a later date. Lieber was arrested on Jan. 28, 2020, and charged by criminal complaint.

According to charging documents, since 2008, Dr. Lieber has served as the Principal Investigator of the Lieber Research Group at Harvard University, specializing in the area of nanoscience. Lieber’s research at the Lieber Research Group has been funded by more than $15 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD). Among other things, these grants required the disclosure of all sources of research support, potential financial conflicts of interest and all foreign collaboration.

Moar:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/harvard-university-professor-indicted-false-statement-charges

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Medical Technology Company President Charged in Scheme to Defraud Investors and Health Care Benefit Programs in Connection with COVID-19 Testing

The president of a California-based medical technology company was charged in a complaint unsealed today in the Northern District of California, in connection with his alleged participation in schemes to mislead investors, to manipulate the company’s stock price and to conspire to commit health care fraud in connection with the submission of over $69 million in false and fraudulent claims for allergy and COVID-19 testing.

The complaint against Mark Schena, 57, of Los Altos, California, the president of Arrayit Corporation, is the first criminal securities fraud prosecution related to the COVID-19 pandemic that has been brought by the Department of Justice and charges one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

“This defendant allegedly defrauded Medicare through illegal kickbacks and bribes, and then turned to exploiting the pandemic by fraudulently promoting an unproven COVID-19 test to the market,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Working together with our law enforcement partners, the Criminal Division is committed to safeguarding the integrity of the Medicare system and protecting the investing public from securities scams.”

Moar:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/medical-technology-company-president-charged-scheme-defraud-investors-and-health-care-benefit