Justice · Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Ohio State agrees to $2.1 million settlement over alleged undisclosed PRC ties on grants
The File desk · Sep 1, 2026, 11:50 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed as a Justice Department announcement of a civil settlement. The department said the claims are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
The Justice Department said on Aug. 31, 2026, that Ohio State University agreed to pay $2,100,000 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose employees’ ties to the People’s Republic of China in applications for NASA and NSF research funding. The department said the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
The Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs said on Aug. 31, 2026, that Ohio State University agreed to pay a total of $2,100,000 “to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose OSU employees’ affiliations with and support from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in connection with federal research funding.”
The department said the settlement relates to NASA and NSF grants that provided funding to OSU from November 2012 to August 2023, and that NASA and NSF required disclosure of foreign government support received by any principal investigator or co-principal investigator.
The last line of the release states: “The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.”
What is still unknown or disputed
- The settlement agreement itself was not fetched.
- The department said there has been no determination of liability.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Ohio State University Agrees to $2.1M Settlement to Resolve Allegations that it Failed to Disclose Employees’ Ties to the People’s Republic of China in Applications for Federal Research Funding
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs · August 31, 2026
Ohio State University (OSU), a public university in Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to pay a total of $2,100,000 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose OSU employees’ affiliations with and support from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in connection with federal research funding. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-state-university-agrees-21m-settlement-resolve-allegations-it-failed-disclose-employees