OAN Staff Taylor Tinsley
2:15 PM – Thursday, November 6, 2025
A growing number of Chinese scholars are facing federal charges in connection with smuggling dangerous biological materials into the United States, all of which have ties to the University of Michigan.
Three research scholars were charged as part of an ongoing smuggling investigation, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday.
Xu Bai, 28, and Fengfan Zhang, 27, were charged with conspiracy to smuggle biological materials into the United States.
The third, Zhiyong Zhang, 30, was charged with making false statements to federal agents.
All three men were in the U.S. on J-1 Visa’s through the University of Michigan, which is a nonimmigrant visa most commonly issued to professors or scholars, students and more.
According to the criminal complaint, Bai and F. Zhang received multiple shipments containing concealed biological materials related to round worms in 2024 and 2025, which had been sent from the PRC to the U.S. by Chengxuan Han, 28.
Han was arrested by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers after an inspection at the Detroit Metro Airport back in June. Investigators later discovered she sent four packages to the U.S. from China containing concealed biological material to individuals associated with a laboratory at the university.
Han pleaded no contest to three smuggling charges and making false statements. She was ordered to return to China and left the U.S. in September.
During an inspection by CBP, Z. Zhang made false statements about Han, while Bai and F. Zhang told officers they had received packages from Han.
Ahead of Han’s June arrest, two other Chinese researchers at the university, Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling, false statements and visa fraud in connection with bringing a fungus into the U.S., called Fusarium Graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Department of Justice (DOJ) isn’t going to let foreign nationals take advantage of America’s generosity.
The DOJ said the university initiated an internal investigation into its Shawn Xu Laboratory following Han’s removal.
The university, however, has not responded to One America News on whether new policies, enhanced vetting procedures or additional oversight measures are being implemented to prevent recurrence.
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