DETROIT — Federal prosecutors accused two Chinese scientists of smuggling into the United States a "dangerous" fungus that causes a disease in crops so that one of them could research the pathogen at a University of Michigan laboratory.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The complaint, affidavit, and other documents were unsealed on June 3.
The two researchers were in a romantic relationship in July 2024 when Liu entered the U.S. with small bags of Fusarium graminearum in his backpack, according to the complaint. Liu later admitted that he planned to use the fungus for research at a laboratory at the University of Michigan, where Jian worked.
Both Jian and Liu had researched the pathogen as university students in China, according to the complaint. The fungus, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon, can be used to target food crops, the affidavit states.
The toxic fungus causes "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a news release. The toxins the fungus produces can cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in livestock and humans.
