Federal Judge Strips Citizenship from Chinese Couple in Medical Trade Secrets Espionage Case

A married couple from China, found guilty of attempting to pilfer advanced research from an Ohio children’s hospital for transmission to China, will have their U.S. citizenship annulled, as announced by the Justice Department on Tuesday.

U.S. Judge James E. Simmons Jr. decreed that Li Chen and Yu Zhou would lose their naturalized American citizenship. This decision followed their convictions on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to steal trade secrets, actions described as involving “moral turpitude,” which disqualified them from demonstrating the good moral character required for naturalization, according to federal prosecutors.

Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized, “Securing citizenship after committing grave offenses against the American populace is a blatant misuse of our immigration protocols.”

She further noted, “These recent denaturalizations highlight the Department of Justice’s dedication to ensuring that citizenship is a privilege to earn, not a right to exploit.”

The DOJ confirmed that the Chinese couple, convicted of attempting to exfiltrate cutting-edge hospital research, will have their U.S. citizenship rescinded. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

Chen and Zhou worked for Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus in separate research labs for a decade and founded a biotech company in China established using stolen trade secrets, authorities said.  

The pair received funding from China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs, authorities said. 

The proprietary information helped the pair develop kits for identifying and treating different medical conditions, the DOJ said, adding Chen received support from the Chinese government in setting up the business.

U.S. Judge James E. Simmons Jr. ordered Li Chen and Yu Zhou stripped of their naturalized U.S. citizenship. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via Reuters/File photo)

Zhou entered the United States in 2005 as an exchange visitor. Zhou arrived in the U.S. again in 2008, on a specialty occupation visa sponsored by NCH, and he adjusted his immigration status to permanent resident in 2011 as the derivative spouse of Chen. 

Chen became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2016, and Zhou naturalized in 2017. Zhou and Chen were arrested in 2019 for crimes related to theft of medical trade secrets, the DOJ said. 

They both received $1.5 million in transactions resulting from their exchange of exosome isolation intellectual property.

According to the DOJ, Chen became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2016, and Zhou was naturalized in 2017. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Chen was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and Zhou was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

“The court held that the couple’s wire fraud — and thus their conspiracy to commit wire fraud — constituted a crime involving moral turpitude that warranted the revocation of Defendants’ naturalization,” the Justice Department said. 

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