Scuba Diving Scientist Underscores DOJ Focus on NIH Dollars

A settlement over an HIV researcher who went scuba diving with NIH money should serve as a wake-up call for research institutions about the challenges in grants management and the need for continuous oversight, research attorneys said.

Hunter College in New York and one of its former psychology professors, Jeffrey T. Parsons-Hietikko, agreed to separate but related False Claims Act settlements over the alleged misuse of National Institutes of Health grant money, including billing for personal costs, paying for bonuses out without telling the NIH, and submitting false timekeeping records.

Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the ...