Federal investigators have arrested and charged an MIT professor with making false statements about research funding. The case is part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign funding, specifically from the the Chinese government.

At a news conference Thursday morning, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said mechanical engineering professor Gang Chen hid his Chinese funding from federal grant-making authorities and MIT to enrich himself and advance China’s research in nanotechnology.

“This was not just about greed, but about loyalty to China,” Lelling said. “It is not illegal to collaborate with foreign researchers. It is illegal to lie about it.”

The government has charged Chen with wire fraud, failing to disclose a Chinese bank account and making a false statement on his tax returns.

In a statement, MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen said the campus community was “deeply distressed” by Chen’s arrest.

“MIT believes the integrity of research is a fundamental responsibility, and we take seriously concerns about improper influence in U.S. research,” Allen said. “Professor Chen is a long-serving and highly respected member of the research community, which makes the government’s allegations against him all the more distressing.”

Chen, 57, is a Chinese-born nanotechnologist and the former head of the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department. He made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday afternoon, wearing a mask during a hearing in Boston also held virtually on Zoom. Us District Court Judge Donald Cabell agreed to release Chen on a $1 million bond and required he and his wife forfeit their passports.

No date was set for his plea hearing.

Chen is the latest of several local researchers Lelling has charged over entanglements with the Chinese government.

Last year, federal prosecutors charged Charles Lieber, chair of Harvard's chemistry department, with making false statements about research funding he had received from the Chinese government.

Some researchers have grown increasingly worried about balancing scientific collaboration with national security. Others have charged the Trump administration’s scrutiny has been based on national origin.

On Thursday, Lelling disputed that argument.

“We look for conduct, not for ethnicity,” he said.

This story has been updated.