U.S. Charges Three More Chinese Scholars in Wuhan Bio-Smuggling Case, Citing Pattern of Foreign Exploitation in American Research Labs

Federal prosecutors allege visiting researchers at the University of Michigan’s “Xu Lab” conspired to import undeclared biological materials from Wuhan.

DETROIT — Federal prosecutors have charged three additional Chinese research scholars connected to the so-called “Xu Lab” at the University of Michigan with conspiring to smuggle biological materials from Wuhan and making false statements — the latest in a string of national security cases involving suspicious research activity at the university’s Life Sciences Institute.

Named in a newly filed criminal complaint are Xu Bai, 28, and Fengfan Zhang, 27, who face conspiracy counts, and Zhiyong Zhang, 30, who is accused of making false statements. All three held student exchange visas and worked in the lab of Xianzhong “Shawn” Xu, according to the Justice Department. Chengxuan Han, a Chinese citizen who also worked in Xu’s lab, previously pleaded no contest in the related roundworm smuggling case.

According to the complaint, in 2024 and 2025 Bai and Fengfan Zhang received multiple shipments containing concealed biological materials related to roundworms that had been sent from China by Han, a doctoral student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. The case accelerated when Han traveled to work in the Xu Lab in June 2025. She was questioned at the border and allegedly evaded searches by wiping her phone and concealing biological material.

“At some point, pattern becomes practice. And, apparently, these three men are part of a long and alarming pattern of criminal activities committed by Chinese nationals under the cover of the University of Michigan,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said. “This is a threat to our collective security.”

As the Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence case takes shape, the alleged facts resemble a much more serious episode that occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic at Canada’s most secure pathogen research lab in Winnipeg. In that case, according to Canadian intelligence reports, Chinese international students working under Chinese Canadian scientist Xiangguo Qiu were found to be clandestinely importing and exporting biological materials and secretly using the high-security facility for research connected to People’s Liberation Army biological weapons and vaccine programs, including Ebola and bat filovirus studies at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department accused two other China-linked researchers, Zunyong Liu and Yunqing Jian, of smuggling Fusarium graminearum — a crop pathogen cited in scientific literature as a potential agricultural terror agent — into the United States for University of Michigan-related research. Their communications referenced shipping biological materials and research plans. Both face smuggling and related charges.

In the new Michigan case, prosecutors allege multiple packages of concealed biological material related to nematode roundworms were shipped from China in 2024 and 2025 by a doctoral student in Wuhan and received by University of Michigan-affiliated scholars. The Justice Department says Han, the prior shipper, pleaded no contest to smuggling and false statement charges this summer before being removed from the United States.

After Han’s removal and an internal university probe into the Xu Lab, the three defendants were terminated for refusing to attend a mandatory meeting, according to the indictment. Investigators say the men then bought tickets to leave from Detroit on Oct. 20, rebooked for Oct. 15, and ultimately attempted to fly out of John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2 a.m. on Oct. 16. During a customs inspection, one defendant allegedly made false statements about Han, while two others admitted receiving packages from her, including after her arrest.

Shawn Xu, who runs the X.Z. Shawn Xu Laboratory, is not charged. From Ann Arbor, Michigan Live reported that federal investigators have not searched Xu, according to his attorney David Nacht.

Xu “has lived in the United States for decades,” Nacht told Michigan Live, adding that Xu studies worms sourced domestically that are not used for commercial purposes.

In the earlier case, Han admitted sending concealed biological materials to University of Michigan recipients. Although the materials were not considered harmful, prosecutors said the shipments violated import and labeling laws.

A Justice Department press release attributed sharp warnings to senior officials about the misuse of academic pathways. “Educational institutions must enhance their admissions procedures to prevent exploitation,” an acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director said.

“The Chinese nationals charged allegedly were involved in smuggling biological materials into the U.S. on several occasions,” FBI director Kash Patel said. “The FBI and our partners are committed to defending the homeland and stopping any illegal smuggling into our country.”