FAYETTEVILLE — Simon Ang, a college professor described in an FBI affidavit as hiding close ties to China while pursuing NASA grant dollars, was released from jail Friday after a detention hearing.
Ang was released on $200,000 bond to home detention, according to records from U.S. District Court in Fayetteville. He was arrested May 8 and had been held in the Washington County jail.
Ang's employer — the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville — has suspended him without pay, a university spokesman said after his arrest.
The criminal complaint against him alleges one count of wire fraud. The affidavit states Ang, a Fayetteville resident, caused wire transfers from NASA to the UA based on fraudulent misrepresentations.
Ties to China not disclosed or fully disclosed by Ang include participation in governmental talent recruitment programs and also connections to Chinese companies, the affidavit states.
The Associated Press in October reported on wide-ranging efforts by the FBI to examine ties between China and researchers at U.S. colleges and universities. Professors at Harvard and the University of Tennessee have also been accused of fraud or making a fraudulent statement while hiding ties to China, and those professors have also been arrested this year.