Purdue University and the US Attorney’s Office negotiate a pre-suit settlement

Hammond, Indiana – In response to accusations made against a professor at Purdue institution’s College of Veterinary Medicine, representatives from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana said on Friday that the office and the institution had struck a pre-suit settlement.

In order to settle the claims under the False Claims Act, the university will provide the government $737,391, which includes punitive damages and restitution, according to a news release.

According to officials, between February 2014 and June 2020, Alice C. Chang, an associate professor at the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine, allegedly misrepresented data in two published studies and seventeen grant applications that she submitted to the Department of the Army and the National Institutes of Health.

According to the press release, the university acted cooperatively and looked into the allegations of misconduct after receiving evidence that called into doubt the veracity of Chang’s research. According to the press statement, Purdue concurred with the federal government that “the funding was not deserved and should be returned,” based on its findings.

“Academic integrity is the cornerstone of scientific research, and we take our commitment to protect U.S.-funded research grants seriously,” U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson said in the release. “Failure to be truthful on an application for U.S.-funded grants is a violation of the law and my office will continue to make it a priority to pursue cases to recover grant funds awarded through fraud.”

According to the statement, Chang and the Office of Research Integrity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have also voluntarily signed into an exclusion agreement that prohibits her from doing any contracts or subcontracts with U.S. agencies for a period of ten years. Chang will also ask for corrections to be made to her published works as per the agreement.