Overview

• The Justice Department has charged Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., making false statements and visa fraud for illegally importing the fungus Fusarium graminearum.
• Fusarium graminearum causes head blight in wheat, barley, maize and rice and produces toxins linked to vomiting, liver damage and reproductive defects, classifying it as a potential agroterrorism weapon.
• Jian was arrested in June and appeared in federal court in Detroit, while Liu, who smuggled the pathogen through Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024, remains outside the U.S.
• FBI filings allege Jian received Chinese government funding for earlier pathogen research and kept Chinese Communist Party loyalty documents on her devices, heightening national security concerns.
• Federal agents from the FBI and Customs and Border Protection are deepening their inquiry as the State Department prepares to revoke visas for Chinese students in sensitive research fields.