Ex-NYU researcher avoids prison in China bribery case

(Reuters) — A former MRI expert from New York University last week avoided a prison sentence on accusations that a Chinese company paid him for U.S.-funded research information, pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor.

Yudong Zhu, a Chinese citizen, pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor count of making false statements on conflict-of-interest forms for a National Institutes of Health grant.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York imposed the sentence, which included 5 months of home confinement and a $5,000 fine.

The case initially seemed far more serious in 2013, when authorities charged Zhu with scheming to receive bribe payments from a Chinese company, United Imaging Healthcare, in exchange for information about his NIH-funded research.

Zhu, an MRI expert who worked at NYU Langone Medical Center, received a $4 million federal grant from the NIH in 2011.

The government also previously alleged that Zhu hid his affiliation with a Chinese government-sponsored research institute.

However, Zhu’s guilty plea pertained only to false statements he made to the NIH regarding his financial interests.

In court papers following the plea, prosecutors said Zhu concealed that he had patented his technology developed using the NIH funds because he had agreed to license it to United Imaging Healthcare for millions of dollars.

If NYU had known of the patent, prosecutors said, it might have triggered a fight over future licensing revenue.

“I am hopeful that this result will allow Yudong to get back to his 1st love, which is the science of MRI technology, and that he can continue to make useful contributions that will benefit the world at large,” Zhu’s lawyer, Maurice Sercarz, said in an interview.

Prosecutors charged 2 other Chinese nationals who worked as researchers at NYU: Zing Yang, an engineer, and Ye Li, a post-doctoral fellow.

Charges were later dismissed against Yang, while Li is believed to have traveled to China before he was indicted alongside Zhu.

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