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DETROIT – Federal prosecutors accused two Chinese scientists of smuggling into the US, denounced the “dangerous” fungi that cause crop diseases, allowing one of them to study the pathogen in a University of Michigan lab.
According to criminal charges filed in US District Court in Detroit, Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, contraband to the US, false statements and Visa fraud. The complaints, affidavits and other documents were sealed on June 3rd.
According to the complaints, the two researchers were in a romantic relationship when Liu entered the US in July 2024 with a small bag of Fusarium graminearum in her backpack. Liu later admitted that he planned to use the fungus in his research in the University of Michigan lab where Jian worked.
According to the complaint, Jiang and Liu were studying pathogens as Chinese university students. Fungi that the scientific literature classifies as potential agroterrorism weapons can be used to target food crops, the affidavit says.
The toxic fungi cause “head blight,” a disease in wheat, barley, corn and rice, and are responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, the Attorney General for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a news release. Toxins produced by fungi can cause vomiting in livestock and humans, damage to the liver, and reproductive defects.
Jiang appeared in federal court on June 3 and was temporarily taken into custody. A detention hearing was set for June 5th, according to court records.
Attorney Senado Ramovich, who represented Zian in her first appearance, had no comment. Liu’s court records, which are believed to be in China and remain in the whole, do not list any lawyers.
In a June 3 statement, the University of Michigan said it “denounces actions that aim to cause harm, threaten national security and undermine the university’s important mission.”
“It is important to note that the university has not received funding from the Chinese government in relation to the research conducted by the accused,” the university added. “We continue to work with federal law enforcement in ongoing investigations and prosecutions.”
Affidavit: Bacteria found in clear plastic bags in backpacks
According to the affidavit, Jian, who received his PhD in Plant Pathogens from Z Jiang University in China, received money from the Chinese Foundation, funded by the Chinese government, which was funded primarily by the Chinese government. This study included studies on specific biological pathogens that can cause devastating crop diseases.
According to the affidavit, her boyfriend, Liu, works at Z Jiang University in China, and is conducting research on the same biological pathogen. The affidavit says that Liu arrived at Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit on July 27, 2024 with the fungus.
The court filing alleges that Liu made a false statement to US customs and border guards when asked about the reasons for his visit and the knowledge of the products he owns. He admitted to smuggling it, according to the affidavit.
The officer found a chunk of tissue in a small pocket of Li’s backpack. According to the affidavit, the organization “hidden a Chinese memo, a round filter paper with a series of circles depicted in a series of circles, and four transparent plastic bags painted inside.”
Liu initially said he didn’t know what the material was and, according to court filings, someone must have put it in his bag. He later accidentally put them there and after further questions he said he admitted that the material was a different strain of the pathogen.
According to the affidavit, Liu said he plans to clone various strains of filter paper and create more samples if the experiment on reddish plant material fails. The affidavit said Liu hid the sample in his backpack because he knew there were restrictions on the material. He said there will be free access to the University of Michigan Lab for several days, and the filing will continue and Jian will have him access to the lab to carry out his research.
Customs officials seized Liu’s electronics and found him unacceptable to the US, according to the affidavit. Officers refused Liu’s entry and processed him for a quick removal to China.
Federal authorities say neither researcher had permission to import the fungus
Jiang has been accused of falsely claiming that during his visit he had no idea about Riu’s intentions to smuggle or conduct research, court filings indicated. The affidavit shows that the USDA has requested a permit for the import of fungi, and neither Liu nor Jian applied for such permits.
“In fact, the investigation into electronic communications between Li and Jian shows that the two discussed the transport of biological materials and research being carried out in the laboratory prior to Li’s arrival,” the affidavit. “Electronic evidence also shows that Jian has previously been involved in smuggling packages of biological materials into the United States.”
Jian was allowed to take part in the J-1 visa and was allowed to conduct research as a postdoctoral scholar in a university lab in Texas.
In 2023, the affidavit states that the University of Michigan offered its position as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions in Ann Arbor. Her employment began around August 2023.
Liu told federal authorities that he knew two lead investigators who oversee the lab because they conducted their research with them at the University of Texas and at the University of Michigan, according to the affidavit. Liu worked in the same lab at both schools from August 2022 to April 2024.
The affidavit shows that Liu has co-authored several academic articles with Jian and two lead investigators from the University of Michigan Institute, and has at least four articles co-authored on Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium oxysporum.
The affidavit added that in March 2024 Liu submitted an application for a B-2 tourist visa, “we were asked in the application whether he was attempting to engage in spying, obstruction, violations of export controls or other illegal activities in the United States.” He replied no and his tourist visa was approved.
Court filings show that tourist visas do not allow foreigners to do work or scientific research during their visits to the United States or import biological pathogens into the country.
A FBI search for Jian’s mobile phone revealed the 2023 job assessment form and annual self-assessment of Zhijiang University teachers and staff, signed in January 2023. The document, according to the affidavit, explained her membership and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, detailing the results of her research as a postdoctoral scholar at Zejiang University.
“These Chinese national suspects, including loyal members of China’s Communist Party, are the most serious national security concerns,” US lawyer Jerome Gorgon said in a statement.
Accusations are being filed amid Trump’s crackdown on visas
The criminal charges arise amid growing tensions between the US and China over the crackdown on Trump administration’s visas against Chinese international students. The Trump administration has stepped up deportation and targeted international students.
In late May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would begin “actively” revoking visas for Chinese students a few days after President Donald Trump requested the “name and country” of Harvard international students.
“The US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to actively revoke visas for Chinese students, including Chinese students and those studying in important fields,” Rubio said in a statement on May 28.
Rubio added that the State Department will amend its visa standards to enhance “scrutiny of all visa applications for the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kongers.”
The move is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing feud with Ivy League University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On May 29, a federal judge said he plans to issue a long-term suspension of the administration’s efforts to ban Harvard from registering international students.
Harvard previously called federal government actions “illegal” and said the school is committed to educating foreign students, who form the largest group of Chinese citizens in the university.
The accusations against the two Chinese researchers also follow the detention of Harvard scientist Xenia Petrova, a Russian citizen accused of attempting to smuggle non-life lab samples into the United States. Petrova sued the Trump administration for her months of ice detention.
Contribution: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today; Reuters
