A Harvard University researcher, Kseniia Petrova, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on multiple charges, including concealment of a material fact, making false statements, and smuggling goods into the United States. This follows an initial smuggling charge filed in May. Petrova, a 30-year-old scientist from Russia working on cancer research for Harvard Medical School, was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Boston Logan International Airport after returning from a trip to France in February. During her travel, she reportedly acquired a package of frog embryos from a specialized lab.
Officials allege that Petrova lied about carrying these embryos and intended to smuggle them into the country without declaring them. However, Petrova maintains that she was unaware of the need to declare the items and did not intend to violate any laws. Since her arrest, she has faced complications with her immigration status; her visa was canceled, and she was initially detained by immigration officials in Vermont. After filing a petition for her release, she was briefly held in an ICE facility in Louisiana but was later released after a judge determined that the officers’ actions were unlawful.
With the recent indictment, Petrova remains on pretrial release, but if convicted, she could face significant penalties: up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the smuggling charge, and up to five years and a similar fine for the charges of concealment and false statements. As of now, her lawyer has not commented on the case.
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