Feds drop criminal case against Davis researcher accused of visa fraud
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A university researcher who was arrested last year on suspicion of concealing her ties to the Chinese government in order to secure a visa no longer faces federal criminal charges in connection with those allegations.
The charges were dropped one day before Dr. Juan Tang was set to stand trial on a single count of visa fraud.
Tang, formerly a research candidate at U.C. Davis, was indicted by a grand jury last August after federal investigators began to build a visa fraud case against her, accusing the scientist of concealing her active ties to the Chinese military in order to gain access to a J-1 visa.
The scientist was initially charged with one count of visa fraud and a separate count of making false statements to federal officers. The second criminal count was tossed by a federal judge after he found that the FBI did not properly advise Tang of her Miranda rights.
The case was brought at a time when the Trump administration was cracking down on Chinese nationals who were allegedly operating in the United States to steal trade secrets and commit other acts of malfeasance.
Tang was never able to begin her work as a cancer researcher at U.C. Davis due to the coronavirus pandemic and her legal limbo. She was jailed for a brief period at the start of the case.
Phillip Talbert, the U.S. Attorney overseeing the case who is known for making public comments when his prosecutors secure any kind of legal victory, was exceptionally quiet on Thursday after the Department of Justice moved to drop the case against Tang.
As of Thursday evening, no one from the Department of Justice had offered an apology to Tang for the legal anguish she endured over much of the last year. At the peak of her case, she faced a possible 15-year prison sentence and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
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