Chinese National Accused of Selling Cancer Research to Communist Nation
Yunhai li,a 35-year-old chinese researcher at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston,Texas,has been charged with theft of trade secrets and tampering with a government record. Li allegedly stole sensitive breast cancer research data, including unpublished articles and confidential materials, from a project funded by the national Institutes of health and the Department of Defense. During an inspection on July 9,U.S. authorities found evidence that Li was attempting to take this information to China, uploading it to a Baidu cloud drive after deleting the files from his Google Drive. Li was detained as he tried to board a flight to China. He faces prison time of two to ten years for theft of trade secrets and up to one year for tampering, along with fines totaling up to $14,000.This case is part of broader concerns about espionage and the illicit transfer of sensitive research by Chinese nationals.
Yunhai Li, a 35-year-old cancer researcher and Chinese national, allegedly stole trade secrets related to his work and may have been trying to take the information to China.
Li, who has been working at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, for the past three years, now faces two charges: theft of trade secrets and tampering with a government record.
The researcher was involved with a project funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, according to a news release from the office of Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare.
Former MD Anderson cancer researcher Yunhai Li charged with Theft of Trade Secrets (third degree felony) and Tampering with a Government Record (class A misdemeanor).
Theft of Trade Secrets carries a penalty of two to ten years in prison and fines up to $10,000. Tampering with… pic.twitter.com/q2NdtbYcVt
— Harris County District Attorney (@HarrisCountyDAO) August 25, 2025
Li attempted traveling to China on July 9.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations, found evidence that “Li was attempting to take sensitive medical information abroad during an inspection of his belongings,” according to the release.
Li’s work involved breast cancer research, and he was on a non-immigrant research scholar exchange visa provided by the U.S. State Department, according to a report from KRIV-TV.
Court documents revealed that Li had saved sensitive data on his Google Drive while employed at MD Anderson, which prompted the entity to confront Li.
The researcher then deleted the files.
But Li had added the information to another drive hosted by Baidu, a Chinese multinational technology firm.
That development was uncovered in the search on July 9.
The uploaded information included “unpublished research data and articles representing trade secrets, including material-restricted confidential research data, writings, drawings and models.”
“We were able to detain him as he was trying to get on a flight to China,” Teare said in a statement, per KRIV.
“There was a pretty good chance that he was going to get deported or leave the country — so we needed to file something,” he added. “We needed to make sure that he was going to stay here, the information was going to stay here, and he was going to be held accountable.”
Li now faces two to 10 years in prison for theft of trade secrets, as well as up to a year in jail for tampering with a government record.
His combined fines could amount to $14,000.
The incident is one of several in recent years involving alleged Chinese espionage of trade secrets from nationals of the communist nation.
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