Two Chinese nationals are facing federal charges of conspiracy to smuggle goods into the U.S., and a third is charged with false statements, all related to an investigation of biological materials intended to be shipped to Michigan. 

The criminal complaint supporting the charges against the three men was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. A Homeland Security Investigations special agent who is assigned to the Detroit office and part of HSI's National Security Global Trade group filed the report. 

Court records explain this case is related to one previously filed in federal court against Chinese national Chengxuan Han, 28, who was arrested in June at Detroit Metro Airport after an inbound passenger inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.  

Han was one of three people accused earlier this year of smuggling biological material into Michigan. She was sentenced in September to time served after pleading no contest to three smuggling charges and making false statements to Customs and Border Patrol. She was ordered to return to China and left the U.S. on Sept. 11, court records show. 

In the newest filing, Xu Bai and Fengfan Zhang each face a smuggling conspiracy charge; Zhiyong Zhang was charged with false statements. The smuggling charge has a possible penalty of up to 20 years in prison plus fines; the conspiracy charge has a possible penalty of up to five years in prison plus fines. 

Bai is a 28-year-old Chinese national who arrived in the U.S. in August 2024. His roommate, Fengfan Zhang, is a 27-year-old Chinese national who arrived in September 2023. The third man, Zhiyong Zhang, is a 30-year-old Chinese national who arrived in September 2021. 

All had traveled on J-1 visas as scholars at the University of Michigan and lived in Ann Arbor, court records say. 

The criminal complaint said a UPS shipment from Han that was inspected and intercepted by Customs and Border Patrol in March was intended for delivery to Bai's apartment in Ann Arbor. This particular shipment was among the incidents that Han pleaded no contest to in September, court records state. 

There were other packages sent to Ann Arbor addresses, including some that authorities believe were intended for Fengfan Zhang but were addressed to Dylan Zhang. One such package included eight petri dishes "containing C. elegans with genetic modifications," the complaint said. 

C. elgans is "also known as roundworms," according to the complaint. The University of Minnesota says Caenorhabditis elegans is a small, primitive organism that is considered ideal for certain biological research.  

During the investigation that led to Han's charges, she initially denied knowing Bai and also denied sending any shipments from China to the United States, the affidavit said. But she eventually told FBI officials that she sent between five and 10 packages to the United States, some of which she believed were lost in transit. 

When Han was arrested at Detroit Metro on June 8, two researchers from the University of Michigan had arrived at the airport to pick her up. Those individuals were identified as Fengfan Zhang and Zhiyong Zhang, court records said. 

For its part, the University of Michigan conducted an internal investigation. The three men named in the complaint "each refused to participate in the investigation," the affidavit said, "and were terminated by UM as a result." 

University of Michigan then revoked the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records for those three men on Oct. 8, which meant they were no longer in compliance with J-1 visas, the complaint said. After that step, the Department of Homeland Security considered them "eligible for removal." 

The three men booked tickets for flights back to China, failing to arrive for an Oct. 15 flight. Agents then learned they were booked on another flight for Oct. 16 out of JFK International Airport in New York, and were met there by Customs and Border Patrol officials. 

While in New York, they were all placed in the custody of the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.