FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — According to the FBI, 63-year-old University of Arkansas-Fayetteville professor Dr. Simon Saw-Teong Ang reportedly failed to disclose alleged "close ties with the Chinese government" in order to receive grant money from NASA.
Ang was arrested on May 8 on one wire fraud charge. A statement released by the US Department of Justice states that the complaint filed against Ang charges that he had close ties with the Chinese government and Chinese companies, and in order to receive a grant from NASA, did not share that information.
"These materially false representations to NASA and the University of Arkansas resulted in numerous wires to be sent and received that facilitated Ang’s scheme to defraud," the DOJ said in the statement.
According to the University of Arkansas website, Ang has worked at the university since 1988 and is the Director of the High-Density Electronics Center and an Associate Director of the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission.
If Ang is convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.
