Case 1:20-mj-02158-MBB Document 1 Filed 01/27/20 Page 1 of 1 AO 91 (Rev. 11/11) Criminal Complaint UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the District of Massachusetts ) ) ) ) ) ) ) United States of America v. CHARLES LIEBER Case No. 20-mj-2158-MBB Defendant(s) CRIMINAL COMPLAINT I, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. On or about the date(s) of April 28, 2018 & January 10, 2019 in the county of Middlesex District of ~_M_a_s_s_ac_h_u_s_e_tt_s__ , the defendant(s) violated: Offense Description Code Section 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) Making false statements to the agency of the United States Government This criminal complaint is based on these facts: See attached affidavit of FBI Special Agent Robert Plumb. li'f Continued on the attached sheet. Complainant's signature Sworn to before me and signed in my presence. Date: City and state: 01/27/2020 Boston, MA in the Case 1:20-mj-02158-MBB Document 1-1 Filed 01/27/20 Page 1 of 17 AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION FOR CRIMINAL COMPLAINT I, Robert Plumb, being sworn, depose and state as follows: 1. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and have been so employed since June 2016. I am currently assigned to one of the FBI's Counterintelligence Squads in the Boston Field Office. My responsibilities include investigating violations of federal criminal laws relating to espionage and theft of trade secrets, the mishandling of classified and defense information, and expmi control laws. Previously, I was employed at the FBI as an Intelligence Analyst. I worked in this capacity for six years. I have participated in numerous investigations, during the course of which I have interviewed witnesses, conducted physical surveillance, executed search warrants, and used other investigative techniques to secure relevant information regarding various federal crimes. 2. I submit this affidavit in support of a Criminal Complaint charging Dr. Charles Lieber ("LIEBER") with making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch of the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 100l(a)(2). Specifically, based upon the evidence gathered thus far in this ongoing investigation, I have probable cause to believe and do, in fact, believe that LIEBER made materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements regarding his participation in China's Thousand Talents Plan to the U.S. Department of Defense ("DoD'') on or about April 24, 2018. I also have probable cause to believe and do, in fact, believe that, on or about January 10, 2019, LIEBER made and caused to be made a series of materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the National Institutes of Health ("NIH") about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan and his affiliation with Wuhan University of Technology ("WUT") in China. Case 1:20-mj-02158-MBB Document 1-1 Filed 01/27/20 Page 2 of 17 3. Based on the evidence gathered to date, LIEBER was a "Strategic Scientist" at WUT and a contractual participant in China's Thousand Talents Plan for significant periods between at least 2012 and 2017. The terms of LIEBER' s Thousand Talents contract called for LIEBER to be paid up to $50,000 per month in salary and approximately $150,000 per y~ar for living and personal expenses by WUT. LIEBER was also awarded more than $1.5 million by WUT and the Chinese government to establish a research lab and conduct research at WUT. 4. The information in this affidavit is based upon my training and experience, my personal knowledge of this investigation, information conveyed to me by other law enforcement agents and officials who assisted in the investigation, and the other sources of information described herein. This affidavit is submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause to believe that LIEBER has committed the offenses described above. Accordingly, I have not included each and every fact known to me and other law enforcement officers involved in this investigation. I have set forth only those facts that I believe are necessary to establish the requisite probable cause. FACTS SUPPORTING PROBABLE CAUSE Background 5. LIEBER is a full-time faculty member and Chair of the Depaiiment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has been affiliated with Harvard since approximately 1991. According to LIEBER' s biography on Harvard's website, LIEBER's primary area of expertise and research is nanoscience. 6. At all times relevant to this complaint, LIEBER served as the Principal Investigator of the Lieber Research Group at Harvard University. According to its website, the Lieber Research Group "is focused broadly on science and technology at the nanoscale, using novel synthesized 2 Case 1:20-mj-02158-MBB Document 1-1 Filed 01/27/20 Page 3 of 17 building blocks to push scientific boundaries in diverse areas from biology/medicine to energy and computing." The Lieber Research Group's website identifies its principal sponsors as NIH and DoD, including the Office of Naval Research ("ONR") and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research ("AFOSR"). Based upon records maintained by NIH, DoD, and Harvard University, I know that the Lieber Research Group has received more than $15,000,000 in grant funding from NIH and DoD since 2008. 7. A component of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, NIH is a government agency responsible for biomedical and public health research. The NIH conducts its own scientific research through an intramural research program, and also provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through an extramural research program. Many of the non-NIH research facilities that receive funding through NIH' s extramural research program are colleges and universities, including Harvard University. 8. In order to receive NIH funding, non-NIH research institutions must submit a detailed application describing, among other things: (a) the purpose and scope of the proposed research; (b) the amount of funding requested; and (c) how the funding will be used. Both during the application process and periodically after an award is made, the institution must also disclose to NIH all foreign collaboration and foreign sources of research support, including, but not limited to, research grants, cooperative agreements, contracts and/or institutional awards. Additionally, NIH requires research institutions to identify and disclose to NIH significant (typically greater than $5,000) financial conflicts of interest by investigators (that is, the person or persons responsible for the design, conducting the research, and publishing or reporting the research performed pursuant to the grant), including those related to funds received from a foreign institution of higher education or the government of another country. Although it is the research institution itself that 3 Case 1:20-mj-02158-MBB Document 1-1 Filed 01/27/20 Page 4 of 17 submits the grant application and all other grant-related disclosures to NIH, the individual investigator(s) must certify to the institution and NIH that the information contained in grant applications, post-award submissions and all other grant-related filings is accurate and complete, and also acknowledge that any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or claims made to NIH may subject the investigator to criminal, civil and/or administrative penalties. 9. WUT is a university located in Wuhan, China. It is considered a top-tier Chinese university recognized for its studies of science and technology. 10. The "Chinese Talent Programs" refer collectively to various plans designed by the Chinese Government to attract, recruit, and cultivate high-level scientific talent in furtherance of China's scientific development, economic prosperity, and national security. Implemented in 2008, the "Thousand Talents Plan" is the most prominent Chinese talent recruitment plan designed by the Chinese Government to incentivize individuals engaged in research and development in the United States to transmit the knowledge and research they gain here to China in exchange for salaries, research funding, lab space, honorary titles, and other incentives. The Thousand Talents Plan is designed to lure both Chinese overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their knowledge and experience to China. The so-called "World Recruitment Plan of Renowned Experts in China" is part of the Thousand Talents Plan. The Chinese Talent Programs have rewarded individuals for stealing proprietary information and violating export controls. Lieber's Affiliation with WUT and China's Thousand Talents Plan 11. According to records maintained by Harvard University, LIEBER traveled to WUT in mid-November 2011 ostensibly in order to pmiicipate in a Nano-Energy Materials Forum being hosted by WUT. Just days before LIEBER's trip, a professor at WUT (hereafter the "WUT Professor") emailed LIEBER a "Contract for Strategic Scientist's Appointment" (hereafter the 4 Case 1:20-mj-02158-MBB Document 1-1 Filed 01/27/20 Page 5 of 17 "Strategic Scientist Agreement"). He also informed LIEBER that LIEBER had been recommended for the "The Recruitment Program of Global Experts," which I know to be part of China's Thousand Talents Plan. In subsequent communications on or about November 11, 2011, both LIEBER and the WUT Professor acknowledged that LIEBER would sign the Strategic Scientist Agreement at WUT on November 15, 2011. According to the agreement, which was written in both Chinese and English, 12. LIEBER was appointed as a Strategic Scientist at WUT for five years from on or about November 15, 2011, until on or about November 14, 2016. LIEBER's objectives and tasks under the agreement were as follows: A!irUt.lii;, Iwr~ li,ilill1t<1;rmt11t ()bj(-ttlvt aml 'l'la~k>li ltir l 1arty I~ 1. 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