Overview
- The Justice Department named Xu Bai, 28, and Fengfan Zhang, 27, on a smuggling‑conspiracy count and charged Zhiyong Zhang, 30, with making false statements, offenses that carry potential maximum penalties of 20 years and five years in prison, respectively.
- All three men were J‑1 research scholars working in the University of Michigan’s Shawn Xu laboratory, which became the subject of an internal review after related enforcement actions.
- Investigators allege Bai and F. Zhang received multiple concealed shipments from China containing C. elegans and other research materials sent by Chengxuan Han, who earlier pleaded no contest to smuggling and false‑statement charges and was removed from the United States.
- CBP reports describe improperly manifested parcels that hid petri dishes and a book concealing a handwritten labeling scheme consistent with worm research materials.
- After refusing to cooperate with the university’s inquiry, the scholars were terminated and lost visa status; they were detained at JFK while attempting to fly to China as multi‑agency investigations continue alongside a Department of Education review of UM’s foreign ties.