ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Foreign funding and fungus are two problems the University of Michigan can’t escape, and now the federal government is launching an investigation into the school’s actions.

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating UM for allegedly violating a federal disclosure law about foreign gifts. This comes after two Chinese researchers linked to the university were charged with smuggling biological materials into the country that can destroy a variety of crops.

MORE NEWS: Michigan Taxpayers Shell Out $375M+ So Others Can Go to College

“Despite the University of Michigan’s history of downplaying its vulnerabilities to malign foreign influence, recent reports reveal that UM’s research laboratories remain vulnerable to sabotage, including what the U.S. Department of Justice recently described in criminal charges as ‘potential agroterrorism’ by Chinese nationals affiliated with UM,” said Chief Investigative Counsel Paul Moore. As the recipient of federal research funding, UM has both a moral and legal obligation to be completely transparent about its foreign partnerships.”

Moore continued, saying “tens of millions of dollars in foreign funding in UM’s disclosure reports have been reported in an untimely manner and appear to erroneously identify some of UM’s foreign funders as ‘nongovernmental entities,’ even though the foreign funders seem to be directly affiliated with foreign governments.”

Officials sent a letter on Tuesday to UM interim President Domenico Grasso and accused UM of “incomplete, inaccurate and untimely” disclosures of foreign gifts and contracts worth at least $250,000 connected to Chinese research.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Education, Section 117 of the Higher Education Act mandates the transparency of federally funded universities and any foreign gifts above $250,000. Any schools who are noncompliant risk enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice along with civil actions.