Click to edit Master title styleNational Aeronautics and

Space Administration

www.nasa.gov1

NASA OIG SA Erik Saracino

NASA OIG SA Michelle Batignani

NSF OIG Inv. Attorney Pamela Van Dort

Meeting Agenda

• NASA OIG/NSF OIG Mission

• Proactive Initiative

• Federal Funding Opportunities

• Fraud Indicators

• Consultants/Visiting Researchers

• Visa Violations – CPT/OPT

• Talent Recruitment Programs

• Feedback/Group Discussion

• Most federal agencies have an independent OIG– Dual reporting obligation: Agency head, Congress

• OIG missions:– Prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse

– Promote economy, effectiveness, efficiency

– Keep agency head and Congress fully and currently informed

• OIG Tools To Meet Mission Goals:– Investigations

– Audits

Offices of Inspector General

3

• New Jersey Post of Duty– Coverage Area: Delaware to Maine.

– The Office of Investigations (OI) investigates allegations of crime, cyber-crime, fraud, abuse or misconduct having an impact on NASA programs, personnel and resources.

– Through its investigations, OI identifies crime indicators and recommends effective measures for NASA management, designed to reduce NASA’s vulnerability to

criminal activity.

NASA OIG Mission

4

• NSF Office of Investigations

– National coverage, local resource

– NSF OIG OI investigates civil, criminal, and administrative allegations of wrongdoing involving NSF programs and operations, including wire fraud, conspiracy, false claims, embezzlement, conflicts of interest, research misconduct, and misuse of grant funds

NSF OIG Mission

5

“OH BOY- it’s another

federal agency presentation”

• Hit the “reset button”

• Develop positive relationships – 2 Phases– Phase 1: Office of Sponsored Programs Directors

– Phase 2: Conduct FWA Presentation for all Principal Investigators/Administrative Support

Proactive Initiative

6

• Direct grant and contract awards

• Small Business Innovation Research – SBIR Program

• Small Business Technology Transfer – STTR Program

• U.S. Army Research Office - Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

– Cutting-edge innovative research that could produce discoveries that would have a significant impact on enabling new and improved Army operational capabilities.

• Department of Defense - Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program – 23 Awards for a total $162M next 5 yrs.

• Over the past 30 years, the DoD’s MURI program has resulted in significant capabilities for our military forces and opened up entirely new lines of research

Federal Funding Opportunities

7

• Pre-Award

– Letters of Support/Obligating w/out University Knowledge

– Linking with companies/no facilities

– Biosketch/current and pending support disclosures

• Post-Award

– Cost Mischarging

– Misuse of federal funding codes

– Rotating funds from one award to another

– Charging down projects for unrelated research efforts

• Close-Out

– Failure to enforce their own policies/procedures

Fraud Indicators

8

Geographical Improbabilities Facilities & Equipment

Compare a company’s description in its proposal to its website, and its actual physical location.

• Disclosure policies

– What do you do if a disclosure is made?

– Trust but verify

• Do you know what your faculty is doing and where? What are they receiving in return?

• What are you certifying to the federal government?

CPS/Biosketch Disclosures

10

• Current NSF Policy (NSF 19-1):– “All current project support from whatever source (e.g., Federal, State, local,

foreign, public or private foundations, industrial or other commercial organizations, or internal funds allocated toward specific projects) must be listed. The proposed project and all other projects or activities requiring a portion of time of the PI and any other senior personnel must be included, even if they receive no salary support from the project(s).”

• NSF Policy Effective 6/1/2020 (NSF 20-1):– “Current and pending support includes all resources made available to an

individual in support of and/or related to all of his/her research efforts, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value. Current and pending support also includes in-kind contributions (such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, students. In-kind contributions not intended for use on the project/proposal being proposed also must be reported.

Current and pending support information must be provided for this project, for ongoing projects, and for any proposals currently under consideration from whatever source, irrespective of whether such support is provided through the proposing organization or is provided directly to the individual.” (footnotes omitted)

CPS/Biosketch Disclosures

11

• Certification Regarding Conflict of Interest: The AOR is required to complete certifications stating that the organization has implemented and is enforcing a written policy on conflicts of interest (COI), consistent with the provisions of Chapter IX.A: that, to the best of his/her knowledge, all financial disclosures required by the conflict of interest policy were made; and that conflicts of interest, if any, were, or prior to the organization's expenditure of any funds under the grant, will be, satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated in accordance with the organization's conflict of interest policy.

• AOR Certification: By electronically signing and submitting this proposal, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) or Individual Applicant is: (1) certifying that statements made herein are true and complete to the best of his/her knowledge; and (2) agreeing to accept the obligation to comply with NSF award terms and conditions if an award is made as a result of this application…Willful provision of false information in this application and its supporting documents or in reports required under an ensuing award is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).

NSF Proposal Certifications

12

• Foreign talent contracts are employment contracts– Define length of service, FT/PT, and number of months

required to spend at foreign university– Outline requirements:

• Publish certain number of papers, file certain number of patents– Requires foreign university to be listed as first author

• Receive / cultivate certain number of students / post-docs• Recruit certain number of individuals into talent plan• Develop research / technology with economic benefits

– Outlines benefits (monetary payment, housing, children’s schooling, spouse’s employment, etc.)

Foreign Government Talent Programs

13

• Duplicate Funding

• Diversion of U.S. grant funds to meet requirements of undisclosed talent contracts, including grant funds budgeted for:– Travel

– Post-docs / Students

– Materials and supplies

• False COI forms filed at U.S. institution

• Undermining of merit review process (undisclosed COI)

Related Concerns

14

• Ensure COI forms are completed according to your policy (at least annually) and carefully reviewed

• Ensure conflict of commitment policies are enforced (require detailed disclosure of existing commitments, including payments, and consequences for non-compliance)

• Develop policies to address concern that university lab resources may be used to fulfill foreign contracts

• When researcher takes sabbatical, ask questions• Review publications for affiliations and

acknowledgements

What you can do

15

• Consultants

– Professors – “my lab”

– School letterhead for boosting credibility

– University equipment & resources

– Conflict of Interest (COI Policy)

• Visiting Researchers

– Unfiltered access to all university offerings

• Quid pro quo (Future Consultant/Subcontracts)

Consultant/Visiting Researchers

16

• Curricular Practical Training (CPT)/Optional Practical Training (OPT)

– Temporary employment authorization that allows an F-1 student to gain practical experience via an internship, work off-campus, or cooperative program that is directly related to the student's program of study.

– Working outside the scope of I-20.

– Export Control/Dual Use too!

Visa Issues

17

Cutting Edge Research

18

Point to point transmissions

Radio frequency

Module

Intellectual Property

(Dual Use Concerns)

CASE STUDIES

20

Recent News

Harvard University• Harvard department chair has been

criminally charged “with one count of making a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement.”

Per public charging documents:

• Lieber became a ‘Strategic Scientist’ at Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China and was a contractual participant in China’s Thousand Talents Plan from in or about 2012 to 2017 (3 yr contract).

• WUT paid Lieber $50,000 USD per month, living expenses of up to 1,000,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately $158,000 USD at the time) and awarded him more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab at WUT.”

Recent News

22

TRUST, BUT VERIFY!

Former Virginia Tech Professor

Recent News

23

Photo credit: https://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/ex-virginia-

tech-biotech-professor-found-guilty-of-grant-

fraud/article_9d08f719-6a76-528e-8ae5-f57ee7a66851.html

• Convicted of conspiring to commit federal

grant fraud, making false statements and

obstruction by falsification.

According to evidence presented at trial:

• While a professor, he founded and served

as an officer for a company that was solely

funded through federal grants. He also

held an outside position at a Chinese

institution.

• He caused the company to submit

fraudulent grant proposals to NSF for

research he knew had already been

completed in China. When subpoenaed for

records, he provided falsified timesheets to

OIG.

Van Andel Research Institute

From DOJ press release:• VARI failed to disclose any foreign

research funding for two researchers or any foreign components of their NIH-sponsored research.

• Both researchers received funding from Chinese sources while VARI applied for and received NIH funding on their behalf.

• From 2012-2018, VARI should have known about these foreign grants and disclosed them to NIH. From June 2018 on, VARI knew about one researchers’ Chinese grants and did not disclose it to NIH, even when expressly asked about foreign funding.

Recent News

24

Photo credit: https://mibiz.com/sections/health-

care/van-andel-research-institute-to-pay-5-5-million-for-

failure-to-disclose-foreign-grants

Falsified IRB ApprovalsFrom DOJ Press Release• PI created false IRB approvals and submitted them to NSF

in connection with multiple proposals. The university drew down funds and certified compliance with the award terms and conditions when no proper IRB approval had been in place.

• University returned more than $1.5M grant.• PI ordered to pay >$130,000 restitution, voluntary

exclusion for ~19 months, certs and assurances, prohibited from serving as an NSF reviewer, advisor or consultant for three years.

Recent news

25

Data Falsification/Plagiarism• NSF-supported graduate student falsified data, plagiarized another

researcher’s dissertation, and committed ethical violations in preparing/submitting manuscript, which 2 journals published– Submitted manuscripts without co-authors’ knowledge/consent

– Submitted manuscript to 7 journals simultaneously

– Falsified journal submission page, used false email addresses for co-authors

• Student blamed hostile work environment, improper supervision, RCR training, a cancelled meeting, advisor’s lack of interest – Felt deserved a publication after synthesizing compounds for his advisor

• University concluded RM: falsification and plagiarism– Student dismissed, publications retracted

– Required better student training

• OIG recommended RM finding; 3 year debarment; 6 years certifications and assurances

Recent news

26

Drexel University Professor

• A former DU professor allegedly spent research money on adult entertainment venues.

• Chikaodinaka D. Nwankpa, 57, was arrested and charged with theft by unlawful taking & theft by deception for stealing $185K in research grants.

• A university audit showed he spent nearly three decades at the school, made numerous, unapproved purchases between 2010 and 2017

Recent News

27

TRUST, BUT VERIFY!

University of New Hampshire Professor

• A former UNH professor was authorized to use a UNH credit card to cover expenses associated with a NASA grant.

• Jichun Zhang altered invoices and receipts to purchase items from Amazon.com, e-Bay, and Apple, Inc., for his personal benefit.

• Theft was discovered and reported by UNH as the result of a routine audit of university purchase cards.

Recent News

28

TRUST, BUT VERIFY!