SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A former computer science professor at the University of California, Irvine, has pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conflict of interest for taking secret research payments from Japanese companies while working as a professor.
Tatsuya Suda, a Japanese native, entered the plea Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court and was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $400,000 in costs and restitution to UCI, the Voice of OC reported Thursday (https://bit.ly/1mGGWkP ).
State officials told the Voice that the plea marks the first time a professor in the University of California system has been convicted of conflict of interest involving research funding.
Suda had covert relationships with major Japanese companies that also funded some of his research projects, according to prosecutors.
He was originally charged in April 2013 with six felonies alleging he received more than $325,000 from KDDI Inc. of Japan.
In his plea, Suda acknowledged receiving more than $7,500 in undisclosed funds.
Suda, 59, was an international expert in computer architecture research and credited with the first scientific article proposing the use of biological molecules in computer systems.
In 2009, however, a whistleblower complained that Suda, who is not a U.S. citizen, was receiving secret payments from Japanese companies.
A UC Irvine investigation led to a $14,000 settlement with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which also monitors for conflict of interest issues in research at state-funded schools.
The school police then referred the case to the district attorney’s office and he was arrested in late 2012.
Suda and his attorney, Mia Frances Yamamoto of Los Angeles, declined to comment after the plea hearing, the Voice reported.
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