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 being held in the Washington County Detention Center.
His employer, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has suspended Ang 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 his 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.
Arrests have been made this year of professors at Harvard and the University of Tennessee accused of fraud or making a fraudulent statement while hiding ties to China.
Metro on 05/31/2020