- Associated Press - Friday, March 23, 2018

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Two University of New Hampshire researchers have been accused of misusing credit cards for federal research grant expenses to charge thousands of dollars of gift cards and personal items, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Friday.

Prosecutors say Hailong Zhang, 44, a research project manager for UNH’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, and Jichun Zhang, 45, a research assistant professor for its Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, were indicted on charges of using the cards multiple times to buy items from companies such as Amazon.com, Apple, Inc., and submitting fake receipts to UNH for reimbursement.

They were arrested on theft charges Friday and scheduled for court appearances. It wasn’t immediately known if they had lawyers or if they are related. An email seeking comment was sent to Hailong Zhang.

The university discovered “some irregularity” in employee expense reimbursement claims by the two in December, UNH spokeswoman Erika Mantz said in a statement. UNH turned the information over to police and government officials. Mantz said the Zhangs were placed on unpaid administrative leave and banned from campus.

The indictment for Hailong Zhang alleges that from December 2013 to this past January, he used the business credit card 31 times to buy Amazon.com gift cards totaling more than $82,000, which he used to buy items for his personal use. His grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

The indictment for Jichun Zhang alleges he used the credit card for personal items totaling more than $6,900 from January 2016 to December 2017. His grants were awarded by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration.

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