Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit removed a Chinese national convicted of fraud for lying about his ties to the Chinese government on grant applications. Officials flew Song Guo Zheng, 60, from Detroit International Airport to Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Feb. 17, 2023, where they turned him over to local authorities.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio convicted Zheng on May 14, 2021, of making false statements to federal authorities in an immunology research fraud scheme. The court sentenced him to 37 months imprisonment and over $3 million in restitution. Zheng defrauded the National Institutes of Health by failing to disclose his conflicts of interest or foreign commitments when obtaining grants.
Zheng concealed his participation in a Chinese Talent Plan, a program established by the Chinese government to recruit individuals with knowledge or access to foreign technology intellectual property.
An immigration court ordered Zheng removed from the United States on Dec. 29, 2022.
On Jan. 6, ERO Detroit arrested Zheng after his release from Federal Correctional Institution Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him and he will remain in custody pending his removal from the United States.
