DETROIT — One of two University of Michigan scholars from China accused of smuggling biological material into the United States was sentenced Wednesday to time served and is expected to head back to her native country.

Chengxuan Han, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, three months after she was arrested and charged with smuggling and lying to federal agents about packages she mailed to a UM laboratory from September 2024 to March.

Han is among four Chinese nationals with ties to UM charged with federal crimes in recent months. The criminal cases were filed amid plans by the Trump administration to revoke Chinese student visas nationwide, and the arrests have raised concerns about whether Chinese nationals are part of a campaign by the Chinese government to terrorize the U.S. agricultural industry and meddle in elections.

Prosecutors wanted Han, who has been in jail since late June, to spend six months in federal prison, saying she has failed to accept responsibility and "proclaimed her innocence despite overwhelming evidence of her guilt."

"Ms. Han intentionally mis-manifested biological material to avoid scrutiny by Customs and Border Patrol agents, undermining our country’s border security and compromising national security measures," Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Salzenstein wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Han's lawyers pushed for her immediate release so she could return to China, calling her a talented researcher whose career has been derailed and who has been maligned by the U.S. government. Her research position at UM was revoked upon her arrest, they said.

"She is not some sort of Chinese operative. She had no plot to harm or defraud the government. She is a nerdy, kind, and polite academic," her lawyers, Sara Garber and Benton Martin, wrote in a sentencing memo.

Han pleaded no contest last month to smuggling goods into the U.S. and lying to federal agents.

The case against Han initially described a criminal investigation that culminated on June 8 when she arrived at the McNamara Terminal of Detroit Metropolitan Airport after a flight from Shanghai.

"During the secondary inspection, Han made false statements that she had not sent packages to members of the UM Lab," an FBI agent wrote in the court filing. "When pressed, Han admitted that she had shipped packages to members of the UM Lab. Han initially stated to (Customs and Border Patrol) officers that the packages were plastic cups (rather than petri dishes) and a book (omitting the envelope with suspected biological materials concealed in it)."

Han, of Wuhan, China, is pursuing a doctorate from the College of Life Science and Technology at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. According to the criminal case, she was invited to be a visiting scholar at UM.

After being inspected, Han was questioned by FBI agents.

“During this interview, Han admitted to sending the packages, admitted that the packages contained biological material related to round worms, and admitted to making false statements to the CBP officers during her inspection,” according to prosecutors.

Han was linked to four packages of concealed or mis-manifested biological material addressed to people associated with the UM lab from September 2024 to March, according to the FBI. The two recipients are not identified by name.

Han told investigators the packages contained Nematode growth medium, which is used to cultivate a type of worm in laboratory settings, according to the court filing. The packages also contained plasmids, which the National Human Genome Research Institute defines as a small DNA molecule found in bacteria and some microscopic organisms.

"The materials she shipped are harmless, already present in the United States, and routinely shipped for research purposes," her lawyers wrote. "She has not threatened national security."

Han denied that anybody directed her to send the shipments. When asked about one package, Han said she sent it "as a 'game' with clues written above each plasmid,'" according to the FBI.

Han was charged one week after investigators arrested a UM scholar from China on charges she tried to smuggle a biological pathogen into the U.S., characterized as a potential agricultural terrorism weapon that can be used for targeting food crops.

The FBI counterintelligence case against UM scholar Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Zunyong Liu, involves allegations that Jian received money from a Chinese foundation financed largely by the Chinese government to conduct post-doctoral work. That includes research on a fungus known as Fusarium graminearum, a biological pathogen that can cause devastating diseases in crops.

Jian is being held without bond. Liu has returned to China.

The case against Jian was unsealed one week after federal prosecutors unsealed a criminal case against a former UM Chinese student who voted illegally in the 2024 election, saying he fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution. The case alleged that 19-year-old UM student Haoxiang Gao fled the U.S. despite surrendering a passport and agreeing to remain in Michigan while on a $5,000 bond tied to state-level charges about his illegal vote.

Last year, there were 4,046 students at UM from China, comprising the largest group of international students at the university, according to UM’s Student Life International Center.

The trail of criminal cases involving UM students and Chinese nationals started last year.

In October, federal prosecutors charged five UM graduates from China who were found on a military facility in northern Michigan in 2023 during a U.S. National Guard training exercise with members of the Taiwanese military.

_____

©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.