A vaccine researcher is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges related to wire fraud and money laundering. Poul Thorsen, a Danish national, initially pleaded not guilty after being extradited from Europe, but has since signaled that he wishes to changes his plea.
“Poul Thorsen allegedly stole more than $1 million in federal grant money by submitting fabricated invoices and diverting funds to his personal bank accounts,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement in May at the time of Thorsen’s arraignment. “International fugitives who think they can avoid responsibility for serious federal crimes by living overseas are wrong. Due to the unwavering persistence of my office and our law enforcement partners, Thorsen has been extradited to the United States and will face justice in federal court.”
According to Hertzberg, between 2000 and 2009, the CDC awarded more than $11 million to two agencies in Denmark to study the links between autism and vaccines, cerebral palsy and infection during pregnancy, and childhood development and fetal alcohol exposure. Thorsen allegedly stole more than $1 million of the grant money by submitting fraudulent paperwork to the Danish government. Between 2004 and 2008, the researcher “submitted over a dozen fraudulent invoices, containing the forged signature of a CDC laboratory section chief, that falsely claimed a CDC laboratory had performed work and was owed grant money,” the DOJ said in its May release.
Aarhus University later transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to CDC Federal Credit Union accounts, although these later turned out to be personal accounts held by Thorsen.
A warrant for Thorsen’s arrest was issued in 2011, although he evaded the warrant for nearly 14 years by remaining in Denmark.
