Han eventually admitted that he had been adding the antibodies after the federal government and Iowa State, alerted by Cho, opened an investigation into his research.
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Han, however, never informed Cho of his mistake, and decided to continue spiking rabbit blood with human antibodies, even after Cho brought him to Iowa State as part of a team exploring the vaccine’s potential.
Han, 58, was forced to resign in 2013 after the university discovered he had fabricated and falsified the results of several HIV vaccine trials. The lies began in 2008 when Cho’s lab was set up at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, but continued when Cho was hired by and moved his research team to Iowa State University.
Fifty-seven-year-old Dong Pyou Han had been charged with four counts of making a false statement and ended up pleading guilty to two counts.
“Here, there is little reason to believe that Dr. Han has not already been deterred from any future criminal conduct”.
What’s raised eyebrows in certain parts of the industry, where fraud, although not exactly commonplace, isn’t unheard of, is the severity of Han’s sentence relative to the nature of his crime.
Despite his academic downfall, Han’s lawyers said that he did not deserve prison time and asked for probation during his sentencing. “He regrets the hurt he has caused to his friends and colleagues, the damage he has caused to government funded scientific research, and the pain he has caused any members of the public who had high hopes based on his falsehood”. Han, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, is a lawful permanent USA resident.
“It is important that we stand up not just for punishing the fraud committed against the USA government, but for the research that should be legitimately taking place on this devastating disease”, said Nicholas Klinefeldt, the USA Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. In addition to incarceration, Han was ordered to pay back more than $7 million to the National Institutes of Health – a sum that’s surely symbolic for a former assistant professor of biomedical sciences at Iowa State University.
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Han’s total sentence includes 57 months in prison, three years supervised release, over $7.2 million in restitution and two $100 special assessments, according to court documents.
