IU Researcher from China Charged with Smuggling E.Coli into U.S.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A postdoctoral researcher at Indiana University, who was in the United States on a visa, was federally charged this week with smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) into the U.S. and then lying about it.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced in a social media post on Friday that Youhuang Xiang, a J-1 Visa holder from China, has been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, and false informing.
According to the FBI, Xiang used women’s underwear shipments to smuggle the E. coli from China into the U.S.
“This is yet another example of a researcher from China – given the privilege to work at a U.S. university – who then allegedly chose to take part in a scheme to circumvent U.S. laws and receive biological materials hidden in a package from China,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Court documents say Xiang, a Chinese resident, graduated in May 2015 from Nanjing Agriculture University with a degree in crop breeding. In April 2023, he applied for a U.S. Non-Immigrant Visa and was issued a J-1 Visa for appointment as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Biology at Indiana University. He began his research at IU’s Bloomington campus that same year in June.
Investigators learned that Xiang was previously affiliated with PRC Key Laboratories in China. Key Laboratories is overseen by the Chinese government and has a concerning history.
Charges against Xiang were officially made on November 25, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Patel thanked the FBI departments in Indianapolis and Chicago for their work on the case.
