ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – It’s not every day the Department of Justice files charges against two foreign nationals for smuggling a dangerous biological agent into the country. But this week, that’s exactly what happened on June 2 – and it all circles back to the University of Michigan.
According to a June 3rd press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Chinese nationals Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud after allegedly transporting Fusarium graminearum, a fungal pathogen classified as a potential agroterrorism threat by U.S. biosecurity officials. The alleged smuggling, according to the criminal complaint, allegedly happened in July of 2024 under the Biden Administration’s watch.
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The couple, who were dating, intended to conduct research on the pathogen at the University of Michigan’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (MPMI) Laboratory. Liu admitted to CBP officers when he was detained at the Detroit Metro Airport that he planned to clone the different strains of the pathogen and make more samples.
University ties, CCP loyalty, and a fungus with devastating potential.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon said, “Today’s criminal charges levied upon Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are indicative of CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate our agricultural economy and cause harm to humans; especially when it involves a researcher from a major university attempting to clandestinely bring potentially harmful biological materials into the United States.”
According to the federal complaint, Jian received financial support from the Chinese government for her research on the pathogen while in China. Investigators also allege her electronic devices contained evidence of membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Documents also show that she has been involved in smuggling packages of biological material into the U.S. on prior occasions. Jian was employed at the lab at the University of Michigan starting around August of 2023, specializing in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.
The criminal complaint alleges that Jian had an article on her iPhone titled “2018 Plant-Pathogen Warfare Under Changing Climate Conditions” which references the pathogen as an example of a destructive disease and pathogen for crops. In February 2025, the FBI interviewed Jian at the MPMI lab, where she denied knowing that Liu planned to study in the U.S. or smuggle in biological materials. However, evidence obtained in the affidavit shows differently.
Jian’s boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, previously worked in the same University of Michigan lab where Jian has been working. Liu is accused of conducting similar research at a Chinese university. Authorities say he first denied – then admitted – to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. through Detroit Metro Airport, intending to study it at the University of Michigan.
What is Fusarium graminearum?
Fusarium graminearum is a nightmare fungus for farmers.
The DOJ says this noxious fungus “causes “head blight,” a disease of 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.”
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The pathogen produces vomitoxin, a chemical that renders grain unsafe for human or animal consumption. Worse yet, a little more than five parts per million of the toxin is enough to ruin a harvest.
Michigan farmer raises the alarm.
In an interview on the Steve Gruber Show on Wednesday with Michigan farmer and lifelong ag expert Mark Benjamin, the alarm bells rang loud. “This disease is on my farm everywhere right now,” he said adding “It’s in the soil. It affects wheat and corn on my farm.”
He went on to say, “The problem is, if they’re working on this and made the strains more resistant to fungicides, that’s where we have the problem. The fact they smuggled it in and didn’t declare that they’re working on something is what’s the scary part.”
Scary might be an understatement. If this fungus mutates – whether by accident or “enhanced” intentionally – it could reduce grain yields by 50% or more said Benjamin. Multiply that across America’s heartland, and you’re staring down a nightmare scenario: a crippled food supply, skyrocketing prices, and empty grocery shelves. “Two bad worldwide crops and we start starving to death here on earth,” Benjamin warned in a worst-case scenario citing “massive die-offs.”
Why do so many China stories keep landing in Ann Arbor?
And where was CCP-linked Jian working while the couple was allegedly monkeying around with a biological time bomb? At a taxpayer-funded lab in Ann Arbor. A lab that receives funding from several U.S. federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
This is the same university already under scrutiny for prior incidents involving suspicious foreign nationals – and once again has become the setting for a story that sounds like it was ripped from a Cold War spy novel.
The FBI previously raised alarms about five Chinese nationals posing as journalists at Camp Grayling, one of the largest U.S. military training facilities. This happened in August of 2023 and they were University of Michigan students. That camp, by the way, is less than two hours from Ann Arbor.
Steve Gruber asked Benjamin if it concerns him that many of the China-linked stories keep leading back to the University of Michigan. Benjamin responded, “It’s starting to get a little suspicious” adding “And if that university does allow a little more leniency on who comes in, we’ll have to look into that.”
The University of Michigan responds.
The University of Michigan issued a statement on Tuesday saying, “We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission. It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals. We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.”
Under investigation.
Liu and the four transparent plastic bags containing different strains of Fusarium graminearum concealed inside a wad of crumpled tissues did not make it past the Detroit Metro Airport. He was denied entry and sent back to China, and is unlikely to face extradition due to the lack of an extradition treaty between the U.S. and China. According to the criminal complaint, Liu had come into the country on a B2 tourist visa which does not allow him to perform work or scientific research during his visit to the U.S. nor does it allow him to import a biological pathogen into the country. Jian is currently in custody awaiting a bond hearing on June 5.
What made Liu think he could easily get into the university lab when he no longer works there? According to the criminal complaint, he stated that while he was in the United States, he would have free access to the laboratory at the University of Michigan on some days, and that other days his girlfriend would give him access to the laboratory to conduct his research. That begs the question: what kind of security protocols are in place at the University of Michigan lab?
Because the discovery of the pathogen happened in July of 2024, Michigan News Source reached out to the University of Michigan to see why Jian was still employed at their lab after the pathogen was discovered. We await their response.
Where do we go from here?
Critics, meanwhile, are calling for an investigation into foreign research funding, lab oversight, and university policies regarding high-risk biological agents.
When a local college becomes a potential staging ground for agricultural sabotage, it’s probably time to tighten up admissions – and maybe biohazard controls and lab security too.
