A prominent Harvard University chemistry professor has been convicted of lying to the US authorities about his links with a Chinese school and recruitment program.

Charles Lieber, 62, the former chair of Harvard's chemistry and chemical biology department, was also convicted on Tuesday of failing to report income he received from the Wuhan University of Technology.

Prosecutors alleged that Lieber was paid $50,000 a month, $150,000 in annual living expenses and more than $1.5 million to set up a research lab at the school in Wuhan, China.

He was convicted of lying to investigators about his affiliation with the school and his involvement in the Chinese government's "Thousand Talents Plan" between 2012 and 2015.

The Chinese program seeks to recruit international experts in scientific research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The US government has described it as a threat to national security and a participant in suspected intellectual property theft.

Under the administration of former US president Donald Trump, the Justice Department launched a series of investigations of alleged "economic espionage" by China.

Lieber is the most prominent American scientist to face charges in connection with the probe although he was not accused of engaging in espionage or intellectual property theft.

A series of other cases have been dismissed or are ongoing.

Lieber was convicted after a six-day trial in Boston of two counts of making false statements to federal authorities, two counts of filing a false income tax return and two counts of failing to report a foreign bank account.

Sentencing was set for a later date.

Lieber could face up to five years in prison for making false statements to the FBI, up to three years for filing false tax returns and up to five years for failing to report a foreign bank account.

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