Houston – A former researcher at the MD Anderson Cancer Center has been accused of trying to steal proprietary research related to cancer and bringing it to China.
Former researchers face charges
Yunhai Li, 35, is accused of stealing a trade secret that was sentenced to two to ten years in prison and fined up to $10,000, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Officials said he was also charged with tampering with government records that could be sentenced to up to one year in prison and a fine of $4,000.
Accusation
Background story:
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Chinese nationals have been employed by MD Anderson since 2022 and have a non-immigrant research scholar exchange visa provided by the U.S. State Department.
Lee was reportedly engaged in breast cancer research while he was in employment at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
Court documents say Lee uploaded sensitive data to his personal Google Drive when he was employed with MD Anderson. They said the agency marked this and faced Lee, who deleted the documents and showed evidence of his doing so.
According to the file, what MD Anderson didn't know at the time was that LI uploaded the data to a drive called Baidu on a similar drive hosted by a Chinese server.
The document says that until July 9, Lee attempted to travel to China. At the airport, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection coordinated with the Homeland Security Investigation, searched his equipment and found new evidence.
“We were able to detain him when he tried to fly to China,” said Harris County District Attorney Sean Tears. “There is a good chance that he will be deported or leave the country – so we need to come up with something. We need to make sure he is staying here, the information will stay here, and he will be responsible.”
Investigators found that the document on Baidu Drive said: “Unpublished research data and articles representing trade secrets, including confidential research data, works, drawings and models that limit substance restrictions.”
“Intellectual property is with us, so we can save lives,” Teare said.
The document also said Lee received grant funds at the National Natural Science Foundation of China and conducted research and publishing research for the first affiliated hospital of Chongqing Medical University before and during his employment at MD Anderson, Maryland, saying Lee did not disclose a conflict of interest.
The other side:
In the document is a sworn in statement signed by Lee, which says in the text: “I believe I have the right to own and retain these data.”
Fox 26 contacted Li's defense attorney, who has not answered our investigation yet.
The investigation continues
What's next:
“In this case, we haven't finished the survey. We know we have enough possible reasons for possible, but we have many ways we have to go down to make sure everyone involved is responsible,” Teare said.
Teare said federal prosecutors may file a lawsuit in the case, but it will be filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Lee released his $5,100 bail and assured from prison Monday that he surrendered his passport in his bond status.
Source: The information in this article comes from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Harris County Court records.
Crime and Public Safety Houstonharris County