DOJ: Ohio State hid researchers’ China funding on NASA, NSF grants

Ohio State University has agreed to pay $2.1 million to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose employee affiliations with, and support from, the People’s Republic of China in connection with federal research funding, the Justice Department announced.

The settlement stems from National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Science Foundation grants that funded OSU research from November 2012 to August 2023. According to the department, NASA and NSF required OSU to disclose any foreign government support received by principal investigators or co-investigators on grant applications. Federal law has barred the use of grant funds for collaborations with the PRC, PRC universities or PRC-owned companies since 2011.

The department alleged that OSU failed to disclose employees’ collaboration with, affiliation with, or funding from the PRC while those employees worked on NASA and NSF grants. The department said annual Faculty Activity Reports submitted to OSU since 2014 identified affiliations with PRC universities and state-run research organizations, but that information was not passed on to NASA or NSF. The department also said OSU learned in 2019 that a principal investigator on NASA grants was a participant in the Thousand Talents Program — a PRC initiative designed to recruit individuals with knowledge of or access to foreign technology and intellectual property — but did not notify NASA or NSF until 2023, four years later. The department said it identified additional OSU employees connected to the grants who had ties to the PRC.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said universities that receive federal research funding must fully disclose foreign funding in their grant applications, adding that the department will hold institutions accountable for disclosure failures. Robert Steinau, a senior official with NASA’s Office of Inspector General, called the settlement a “major financial recovery” for the public and said the accompanying compliance agreement signals that the government will not tolerate institutions that conceal foreign ties. Acting NSF Inspector General Megan E. Wallace said failures to disclose funding sources and foreign support undermine the integrity of the federal grant process and put taxpayer dollars and research interests at risk.

The Justice Department noted the case supports its broader anti-fraud push, including the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division launched this year. The resolution involved the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, along with NASA’s and NSF’s inspectors general and the FBI. Fraud Section Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Reimer handled the matter.

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