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A visiting Chinese researcher at Stanford University has been charged with visa fraud for allegedly hiding her employment by the Chinese military.
According to an affidavit, Song Chen began working in a Stanford lab in early 2019; a Stanford professor attested to her expertise in myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease. Prosecutors allege that she said on her 2018 visa application that her service with the Chinese military ended in 2011 but that it was in fact ongoing.
The affidavit states that an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation "revealed that there is probable cause to believe that SONG CHEN is currently employed by the PLA Air Force General Hospital" and that she maintained affiliations with the Air Force Military Medical University, formerly known as the Fourth Military Medical University (FMMU), after 2011.
The affidavit also describes a deleted letter seized from one of Song’s devices, addressed to the Chinese consulate in New York, in which she allegedly wrote “that her stated employer, Beijing Xi Diaoyutai Hospital, is a false front, and that, as a result, she had obtained approval for her extension from both the PLA Air Force and FMMU. She explained that, as these approval documents were classified, she was not able to transmit them online, and thus instead attempted to mail the documents via UPS, though the package was lost.”
Song has been charged with obtaining a visa by making false statements. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
