US lab scientist charged with lying about China contact

A scientist for a US laboratory in New Mexico is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday on accusations he lied about contacts with a state-run program in China that seeks to draw foreign-educated talent.

Prosecutors say 67-year-old Turab Lookman, of Los Alamos National Laboratory, had been asked on an employment questionnaire and by officials if he had been recruited by China's Thousand Talents Program or applied to work there. He's accused in an indictment filed last week of falsely stating that he hadn't.

Federal prosecutors say the China program had been established to recruit people with access to and knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property.

Court records did not yet list an attorney for Lookman. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.