DOJ：Meyya Meyyappan at NASA lied to FBI ：the Thousand Talents Program
The US Department of Justice：
DOJ alleges a chief scientist at NASA was illegally a member of a Chinese government recruitment program.
Meyya Meyyappan, 66：
pleaded guilty on Wednesday to lying to federal investigators about his ties to foreign universities and a Chinese government recruitment initiative.
Meyyappan was a member of the Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese government group that works to recruit international experts in scientific research and innovation.
Business Insider
Senior NASA Scientist Pleads Guilty To Making False Statements Related To Chinese Thousand Talents Program Participation And Professorship
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General (“NASA OIG”), announced that
MEYYA MEYYAPPAN, a senior NASA scientist,
pled guilty today to making false statements to the FBI, NASA OIG, and the USAO. MEYYAPPAN pled guilty in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.
According to the allegations in the Information filed today in Manhattan federal court and other proceedings in this case:
Since in or about 1996, MEYYAPPAN, the defendant,
has been employed by NASA, an independent U.S. government agency responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
Since in or about 2006, MEYYAPPAN has been Chief Scientist, Exploration Technology at the Center for Nanotechnology, at NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Silicon Valley, California.
In his position at NASA, MEYYAPPAN was subject to certain statutory, regulatory, and agency restrictions and reporting requirements regarding, among other things, outside employment, travel, and compensation.
Notwithstanding these prohibitions, MEYYAPPAN participated in China’s Thousand Talents Program, a program established by the Chinese government
to recruit individuals with access to or knowledge of foreign technology or intellectual property, and held professorships at universities in China, South Korea, and Japan,
and failed to disclose these associations and positions to NASA and the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
USAO-SDNY | Department of Justice