Nearly 15 years after a Danish researcher was accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intended to fund autism research overseas, he has pleaded guilty to financial crimes.
Poul Thorsen, a research investigator who was working as a visiting scientist at the CDC, was extradited to the United States following 11 years avoiding capture in Denmark, according tofederal prosecutors. He was arrested in June while traveling in Germany.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Sept. 1, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for theNorthern District of Georgia.
Here's what to know about the crime that kept Thorsen on the run for more than a decade.
Danish researcher put in charge of CDC research grants
Between 2000 and 2009, the CDC's Division of Birth Defects
and Development Disabilities was working to study the relationship between autism and various exposures, federal prosecutors said.
During that time the agency awarded more than $11 million in research grants to study "the relationship between autism and exposure to vaccines, between cerebral palsy and infection during pregnancy, and between childhood development and fetal alcohol exposure."
Thorsen was working at the CDC in 2022 when the agency solicited grant applications for research, and he was selected as the principal investigator who was responsible for administering funds to Danish research groups.
"While principal investigator, Thorsen systematically stole the CDC grant money by submitting fraudulent documents to the Danish government, to Aarhus University, and to Odense University Hospital, where scientists performed research under the grant," federal prosecutors said. "From February 2004 through June 2008, Thorsen submitted over a dozen fraudulent invoices, containing the forged signature of a CDC laboratory section chief, for reimbursement of expenses Thorsen claimed were incurred in connection with the CDC grant."
More than $1 million lost
The universities transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars into accounts that were believed to belong to the CDC, but were instead personal accounts held by Thorsen. The researcher pulled the money out of the accounts through cashier's checks and made significant purchases. He bought a home in Atlanta, multiple vehicles, paid off credit cards and diverted funds into other accounts.
In total, Thorsen received more than $1 million of the CDC grant money meant for the university research, federal prosecutors said.
The now 65-year-old pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and is set for sentencing on Dec. 1 before a U.S. District Judge.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Researcher who stole CDC funds meant for autism research pleads guilty
