Chinese Researcher Charged With Smuggling E. Coli Into the US

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Dec 20, 2025 - 10:55 Updated: Dec 20, 2025 - 10:50
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Chinese Researcher Charged With Smuggling E. Coli Into the US

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A Chinese national with a temporary visa working as a biology researcher at Indiana University was charged with smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) and lying about it, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday.
“This is yet another example of a researcher from China—given the privilege to work at a U.S. university—who then allegedly chose to take part in a scheme to circumvent U.S. laws and receive biological materials hidden in a package originating from China,” Patel wrote as part of a statement on X.

Youhuang Xiang was in the United States on a J-1 visa from China, according to the FBI.

E. coli are bacteria found in many places that can make people sick with diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sepsis, and other illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“If not properly controlled, E. coli and other biological materials could inflict devastating disease to U.S. crops and cause significant financial loss to the U.S. economy,” Patel said.

Xiang did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.

Xiang, who earned his Ph.D. in plant science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, studied the fungus Fusarium graminearum, which causes “head blight” in certain grain crops.

He earned an agricultural research award last year for his study on the fungus, specifically its gene discovery and engineering resistance.

The disease affects wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year.

Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.

In a similar case last month, three Chinese nationals in Michigan were charged for allegedly smuggling the fungus into the United States multiple times.

One of the suspects in Michigan, Yunquing Jian, was getting Chinese government funding for her work on the pathogen in China. Her boyfriend also worked at a Chinese university where he conducted research on it.

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The Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on Jan. 15, 2021. Michael Conroy/AP Photo
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Prosecutors said her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the United States through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport to conduct research on it at the university’s lab.

Patel warned all universities and their compliance departments to be vigilant about the biological smuggling trend.

“Ensure your researchers know that there is a correct and legal way to obtain a license to import/export approved biological materials, and it must be followed without exception,” Patel said.

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