University of Delaware, Grant Fraud, Delaware 2023

Wilmington, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that the University of Delaware has agreed to pay $715,580 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose a professor’s affiliations with and support from the government of the People’s Republic of China in connection with federal research funding.

The settlement relates to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grant that was issued to the University of Delaware in June 2020. Since 2011, federal law has prohibited NASA from using funds to collaborate with China or any Chinese-owned companies. The settlement resolves allegations that the University of Delaware caused NASA to violate this law by failing to disclose that one of the principal investigators on the grant was affiliated with the Chinese government through: (1) employment at a Chinese university; (2) participation in a program established by the Chinese government to recruit individuals with knowledge or access to foreign technology intellectual property; and (3) a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

“Federal law requires universities, institutions, and researchers to make disclosures, including certain foreign affiliations, when applying for grants so that the granting agencies can assess whether to fund their research and development,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David C. Weiss. “My office will hold accountable applicants who undermine the integrity of the federal grant process by knowingly failing to submit complete and truthful applications.”

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware and NASA-OIG. This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shamoor Anis and Claudia L. Pare for the District of Delaware.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

In this case, the defendant was the University of Delaware, a higher education institution in Newark, Delaware. The exact criminal charge was failure to disclose foreign affiliations in connection with federal research funding. The city and state involved were Wilmington, Delaware. The exact date of the alleged offense was not provided.

The outcome of this case was a settlement of $715,580, which was paid by the University of Delaware to resolve the civil allegations. No prison time was imposed in this case, and the defendant is currently not facing any charges or penalties beyond the settlement payment.

Related Federal Cases