Varsity Pays Over $875,000 For Non-disclosure Of Professor's Foreign Govt Support

| The Daily Crucible | Friday, November 11, 2022

The Ohio State University (OSU), a public university in Columbus, Ohio, has paid $875,689 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose an OSU professor’s affiliations with and support from a foreign government in connection with federal research funding.

This settlement relates to Army, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and research support agreements that provided funding to OSU from November 2012 to August 2020, the Department of Justice said yesterday.

 It was learnt that in the funding application process, the Army, NASA and the NSF require disclosures of, among other things, foreign government support received by any principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on the grant or agreement. 

The settlement resolves allegations that an OSU professor failed to disclose funding that he was receiving from a foreign government in connection with: (1) employment at a foreign public university; (2) participation in a foreign talent plan, a program established by the foreign government to recruit individuals with knowledge or access to foreign technology intellectual property; and (3) a grant from the foreign government’s natural science foundation. 

It was learnt that as part of its settlement, OSU agreed to cooperate with the United States government’s investigation of others involved in the alleged violations of law.

“Universities, institutions and researchers are required to make certain disclosures when applying for federal grants so that the government can assess whether to fund their research and development. 

 “The department will hold accountable applicants who undermine the integrity of the grant process by knowingly failing to submit complete and truthful applications,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

According to U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio,

 “Failing to comply with federal disclosure obligations is not tolerable. Period" while . “Institutions, agencies, and researchers who do so will be held accountable.”

Also, Special Agent in Charge Scott Moreland of the Major Procurement Fraud Field Office said, “The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division uses all available resources to see that those who attempt to bypass full disclosure rules when working with foreign governments are held accountable."