Former Senior Infectious Diseases Official Pleads Guilty to Federal Scheme Concealing COVID-19 Records Using Gmail

A former senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme to conceal federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic. David M. Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland, admitted to conspiring to commit offenses and defraud the United States in connection with his efforts to circumvent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and the Federal Records Act. Morens, who served as a senior advisor in NIAID’s Office of the Director for over 15 years, engaged in this conduct as part of a broader effort involving others to influence the handling of research grant information related to coronavirus.

The plea agreement details a conspiracy that emerged after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) terminated a grant titled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.” This grant, which had been awarded to Company 1 and a co-conspirator, included a subaward to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The termination followed allegations that COVID-19 originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Following the grant’s termination, Morens, along with two co-conspirators, reportedly agreed to assist the primary grant recipient in attempting to reverse the decision and to counter the narrative that COVID-19 might have originated from a laboratory.

In anticipation of potential FOIA requests for their communications, Morens and his co-conspirators agreed to use Morens’s personal Gmail account for their correspondence, rather than his official government email. This strategy was employed to keep their discussions out of public view. Court documents indicate that this personal email account was used to exchange sensitive, non-public information from NIH. The communications also involved discussions about efforts to influence NIH to continue funding Company 1, and the exchange of edits for draft letters sent to NIH leadership on behalf of Company 1 and the co-conspirator. Furthermore, the personal account was used to relay information to a senior NIAID official outside of official channels. These activities, according to the plea, were within Morens’s purview as a senior advisor and generated federal records that should have been managed through government systems.

In addition to the scheme to conceal records, Morens also admitted to conspiring with one of the co-conspirators to accept illegal gratuities. This co-conspirator reportedly gifted Morens wine, delivered to his Maryland home, for his involvement in “behind-the-scenes shenanigans.” Morens then allegedly identified a specific action he would take to justify the gift: authoring a scientific commentary in a medical journal that would argue for the natural origins of COVID-19. The co-conspirator also proposed offering Morens additional benefits, such as meals at high-end restaurants in major cities.

Morens faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge. However, federal sentencing typically results in penalties below the statutory maximums. A federal judge will determine the final sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant legal factors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, along with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, were recognized for their contributions to the investigation.

This case highlights the importance of adhering to federal record-keeping laws and transparency requirements, particularly when dealing with sensitive research and public health information. The use of personal email accounts to conduct official government business and the alleged acceptance of gifts in exchange for official actions underscore potential conflicts of interest and breaches of public trust. Residents can report suspected fraud related to government programs or grants by visiting the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland’s website.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland

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