Two Chinese researchers are accused of smuggling a “potential agroterrorism weapon” via a harmful fungus that they planned to study at a University of Michigan laboratory last summer.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, both citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Jian works at the University of Michigan while Liu, her boyfriend, works at Zhejiang University in China, CBS News reports.
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The complaint alleges that the fungus, Fusarium graminearum, causes vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in livestock and humans. It also causes head blight, a disease that affects wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is “responsible for billions of dollars in economic loss worldwide each year,” the complaint says.
“Today’ss criminal charges levied upon Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are indicative of CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate our agricultural economy and cause harm to humans; especially when it involves a researcher from a major university attempting to clandestinely bring potentially harmful biological materials into the United States,” said U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s Director of Field Operations Marty Raybon.
Complaint: Chinese Researcher Lied About Fungus
The 25-page criminal complaint does not allege the defendants had any intention to spread the fungus beyond the lab but says Liu knew of the restrictions on the material and deliberately hid it in a wad of tissues in his backpack while traveling through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024, according to CNN.
When Liu was questioned at the airport, the affidavit says he initially claimed he didn’t know what the materials were but later admitted he intentionally hid the samples and planned to clone different strains at the lab. Several devices seized from Liu also allegedly contained messages showing he coordinated with Jian to smuggle biological samples and other materials for both the 2024 trip and a trip two years earlier.
The complaint also notes Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on this pathogen in China, alleging her electronics contained information detailing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.
“We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission,” the university wrote in a statement. “It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals. We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the case is “a sobering reminder that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences.”
This is the second time in a week that a Chinese national with ties to the University of Michigan has been charged in a federal investigation. Last week, a Chinese national who was attending the university was charged with illegally voting in the 2024 presidential election.
Jian remains in custody while Liu is currently not in the U.S.
Is Fusarium Graminearum Dangerous?
Expert opinions vary on the dangerousness of Fusarium graminearum.
“It doesn’t matter whether the person had good intentions,” Dr. Donell Harvin, former chief of homeland security for the District of Columbia, told CNN. “If there’s some type of mistake, or mishap, or release, that could have catastrophic consequences.”
Agriculture experts interviewed by Reuters said the fungus has been in the U.S. for more than a century, noting it can be prevented by spreading pesticides and that it is only dangerous if ingested regularly and in large quantities.
“As a weapon, it would be a pretty ineffective one,” said Jessica Rutkoski, a crop sciences professor, wheat breeder and geneticist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
However, plant experts told Reuters it would be difficult to fully assess the risks posed by the samples without more information on the particular strain.
