US professor hired in Nanjing charged with crimes
By Li Qian |
February 11, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN American professor who has been recruited by a university in eastern China's Jiangsu Province and offered hefty pay packets has been charged by US authorities with fraud, false statements and money laundering involving US$3 million.
Craig Grimes, 55, hired as a full-time professor of Material Science and Engineering at Nanjing Industry University last May, allegedly swindled the US National Institutes of Health out of about US$1.2 million between 2006 and 2011, and made false statements on a US$1.9 million grant application to the Department of Energy in 2009, the US Department of Justice said.
The former professor at Pennsylvania State University was touted by Nanjing Industry University as a pioneer in the area of solar batteries, nanometer technology and electromagnetic energy. He was entitled to research funds of between 3 million yuan (US$476,700) and 8 million yuan, China Youth Daily reported yesterday.
Grimes, acting through his solely owned company, requested grants from NIH to perform research related to the measurement of gases in patients' blood, but didn't keep his promise to send US$510,000 of that to Penn State's Hershey Medical Center.
Moreover, the clinical studies and trials called for in the grant were never done. Instead, Grimes used the grants for his own purposes, the US Department of Justice said. "Every dollar is precious, so any misappropriation of these funds - as the government charges Mr Grimes today - will be investigated aggressively."
In China, the professor has been suspended until the university finishes its investigation of him, said an official with Nanjing Industry University.
"We didn't fire him immediately because he hasn't been confirmed to be guilty despite the fact that he admitted 'there was something wrong with him,'" the official said. "We recruited him because he was listed as among the top 25 experts in relevant fields."
The official said the university had undergone a strict process of exams to verify Grimes as a real talent. "The United States is afraid of the brain drain to China, especially in the energy field. Why didn't the US Department of Justice sue him before we recruited him?"
Craig Grimes, 55, hired as a full-time professor of Material Science and Engineering at Nanjing Industry University last May, allegedly swindled the US National Institutes of Health out of about US$1.2 million between 2006 and 2011, and made false statements on a US$1.9 million grant application to the Department of Energy in 2009, the US Department of Justice said.
The former professor at Pennsylvania State University was touted by Nanjing Industry University as a pioneer in the area of solar batteries, nanometer technology and electromagnetic energy. He was entitled to research funds of between 3 million yuan (US$476,700) and 8 million yuan, China Youth Daily reported yesterday.
Grimes, acting through his solely owned company, requested grants from NIH to perform research related to the measurement of gases in patients' blood, but didn't keep his promise to send US$510,000 of that to Penn State's Hershey Medical Center.
Moreover, the clinical studies and trials called for in the grant were never done. Instead, Grimes used the grants for his own purposes, the US Department of Justice said. "Every dollar is precious, so any misappropriation of these funds - as the government charges Mr Grimes today - will be investigated aggressively."
In China, the professor has been suspended until the university finishes its investigation of him, said an official with Nanjing Industry University.
"We didn't fire him immediately because he hasn't been confirmed to be guilty despite the fact that he admitted 'there was something wrong with him,'" the official said. "We recruited him because he was listed as among the top 25 experts in relevant fields."
The official said the university had undergone a strict process of exams to verify Grimes as a real talent. "The United States is afraid of the brain drain to China, especially in the energy field. Why didn't the US Department of Justice sue him before we recruited him?"
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