Hearing today in GenPhar case

A hearing is scheduled in federal court this morning to address several issues in the GenPhar fraud case, including its founder's problems securing an attorney and the government's efforts to freeze his assets.

The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel.

The trial of the biotech company's founder, Jian-Yun Dong, and his wife had been scheduled for last month, but Gergel pushed it back until March amid delays caused by Dong's lack of a permanent lawyer.

Dong insists he is broke and doesn't have the money to hire an attorney. Prosecutors question his claims of poverty, saying that Dong continues to spend money the government wants to seize and that he still draws a $105,000 salary from the Medical University of South Carolina, where he is a professor until March.

Dong, 54, is accused of stealing some $3.6 million in federal grant money intended for research on vaccines for the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses. Authorities say he used the money to pay for lobbying and to entertain one of his mistresses in China, among other things.

Dong and his estranged wife, Danher Wang, also are accused of illegally funneling $31,000 to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's campaign and the senator's political action committee. Graham is not accused of wrongdoing in the episode.

Prosecutors are seeking a restraining order to keep Dong and his Mount Pleasant company from transferring or disposing of cash and property ahead of his trial.

In court papers, prosecutors cited Dong's recent transfer of two 40-acre tracts in Alabama to his daughter's name.

Dong has said he transferred that property to his daughter to ensure that she had money to pay for college. Prosecutors noted, however, that Dong's daughter already had nearly $260,000 in assets at her disposal.

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