Tens of thousands of reference drugs and toxins were illegally shipped to China in a multi-million-dollar scheme involving a U.S. university research employee and students, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The scheme was orchestrated by Pen Yu, also known as Ben Yu, a U.S. citizen residing in Gibsonton, Florida. From July 2016 to May 2023, Yu fraudulently purchased discounted biochemical products from MilliporeSigma, a subsidiary of Germany-based Merck KGaA.
Court documents revealed that the biochemical products obtained by Yu included analytical standards of various substances such as cocaine, fentanyl, morphine, MDMA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, codeine, and ketamine. Analytical standards are substances used to calibrate scientific or medical instruments.
To execute his scheme, Yu enlisted the help of Gregory Muñoz, a MilliporeSigma sales representative. With Muñoz’s assistance, Yu was able to pose as an individual affiliated with a biolab at a Florida university. This allowed him to have the items he purchased sent to the university’s laboratory stockroom. A stockroom employee, who remains unnamed in court documents, then diverted the products back to Yu.
Yu acted as the “ringleader” of the scheme, repackaging the products and shipping them to China using falsified export documents. In total, Yu received over $4.9 million in discounts and benefits from MilliporeSigma. He also rewarded Muñoz with over $100,000 in gift cards for facilitating the transactions.
Both Yu and Muñoz have pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. The DOJ has decided not to press charges against MilliporeSigma due to the company’s cooperation in the investigation.
Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod emphasized the illegality and wrongdoing involved in faking an affiliation with an academic research lab to obtain controlled biochemical materials and subsequently sending them to China. He warned universities to be vigilant about the misuse of academic institutions by individuals seeking to obscure the actual customer of controlled items.
Court documents revealed that Yu received more than $100,000 from his co-conspirators in China, referring to them as his “boss” in emails exchanged with Muñoz. The stockroom employee involved in Yu’s scheme was a U.S. citizen residing in Gainesville, Florida.
To deceive MilliporeSigma, Yu and Muñoz used the email addresses and names of two researchers who had already left the university. They placed orders without the researchers’ knowledge or authorization. In addition, the defendants paid students from the University of Florida, including a Chinese national named “Leticia,” to use their emails for placing orders with MilliporeSigma.
Zheng “Leticia” Nongnong, identified as a co-conspirator in Yu’s scheme, is also the president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) at the University of Florida. CSSAs have been identified as integral to China’s “united front work,” which involves influence operations in the United States, according to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Epoch Times reached out to the University of Florida for comment on the matter.
