Two Chinese nationals are accused of smuggling a “potential agroterrorism weapon” via a noxious fungus into the mid-western US.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, both citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the US, false statements, and visa fraud, officials said today.
It is the second time in a week that a Chinese national with ties to the University of Michigan has been charged in a federal investigation.
Last week, a Chinese national who was attending the university, was charged with illegally voting in the November 2024 election.
Jian worked at the University of Michigan, according to officials.
Her boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university.
The investigation is a joint effort of the FBI and US Customs and Border Protection.
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals— including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party—are of the gravest national security concerns,” US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr said.
“These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme.”
The FBI arrested Jian in connection with smuggling activity into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.
Officials said the “noxious 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. Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.”
According to the complaint, Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on this pathogen in China.
The complaint also alleges that Jian’s electronics contain information describing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.
It is further alleged that Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen and that he first lied but then admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum through Detroit Metropolitan Airport so that he could conduct research on it at the laboratory at the University of Michigan where Jian worked.
Jian was scheduled to appear on today in the federal court in Detroit.
CBS News Detroit has reached out to the University of Michigan for comment.
