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CLARKSBURG -- Xinjian "Kevin" He, a former West Virginia University professor, has been indicted on two counts of federal program fraud.
According to court documents and statements made in court, He, 41, was a professor in the University's engineering department and allegedly embezzled federal grant funding, using the money to purchase clothing, furniture, home goods and electronics for his personal use.
The indictment was returned in November 2020 but remained sealed because the defendant fled the country and wasn't arrested until Sept. 26 when he entered the United States from Canada and was apprehended in New York. At a hearing Monday in federal court in Clarksburg, a motion by the U.S. Attorney's Office to detain He pending trial due to the risk of flight was granted.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of fraud. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wagner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the WVU Police Department investigated. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided over Monday's proceedings.