University of Kansas researcher charged with theft in purchase of personal equipment
A University of Kansas researcher has been accused of theft and other crimes in the purchase of equipment for personal use, according to a news release from the Kansas Attorney General’s office.
Liuqi Gu, 37, of Lawrence, has been charged in Douglas County Circuit Court with two counts of theft, one count of unlawful acts concerning computers and one count of making false information, all felonies. He also faces misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and failure to pay state sales tax.
The crimes allegedly occurred between November 2016 and October 2018. Gu allegedly received discounts by falsely representing that equipment purchases he made were for the use of the university.
The purchases from a biotechnology product development company allegedly were actually for his or another person’s benefit, according to the attorney general’s office.
Gu, a post doctoral researcher in KU’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology, also allegedly used confidential information he acquired while employed with the University of Kansas to avoid paying between $25,000 and $100,000 in sales tax on those purchases.
Gu was arrested Monday by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. He has been placed on paid administrative leave from the university. Andy Hyland, university spokesman, said given that this is a criminal investigation, “we cannot share further details at this time.”
The Fraud & Abuse Litigation Division of the attorney general’s office and the FBI investigated the alleged crimes.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 2:16 PM.
