Overview

On May 22, 2019, Dr. Turab Lookman was indicted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on three counts of making false statements. 

Dr. Lookman moved from India to the U.K. at age 13 and later earned a doctorate in theoretical physics from King’s College, University of London. He spent around 20 years as a professor at a Canadian university before joining Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico.  He became a U.S. citizen in 2008.

Dr. Lookman was recognized as a Laboratory Fellow, one of LANL’s highest awards for its scientific staff.  He co-authored over 250 scientific papers and two books. He received LANL's Fellows Prize for Outstanding Research in 2009 and the Distinguished Postdoctoral Mentor Award in 2016.

He was terminated from LANL following his arrest. 

Dr. Lookman was charged with falsely denying his involvement with China's Thousand Talents Program, facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each false statement to federal investigators. 

Dr. Lookman’s contact with China came partly through the lab’s collaboration with that country on research projects, such as one aimed at discovering new materials that could support nuclear deterrence and the lab’s energy work.

In June 2019, a month after Dr. Lookman’s indictment, the Department of Energy issued an order barring department staff and contractors from involvement in a foreign government's talent recruitment program.

Federal prosecutors characterized Dr. Lookman as a serious national security threat due to his high-level security clearance, which granted him access to critical facilities and highly sensitive nuclear secrets. They claimed he "had no loyalty to the U.S."

Dr. Lookman's lawyer argued that prosecutors exaggerated his access to classified information, asserting that there was no evidence he had unlawfully obtained or intended to share nuclear weapons secrets with any foreign government.

Dr. Lookman initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but In January 2020, he accepted a plea agreement to one count of making a false statement with dismissal of the other two charges.

On September 11, 2020, Dr. Lookman was sentenced to five years of probation and a $75,000 fine for providing a false statement to the Department of Energy.  He was not allowed to leave New Mexico for the term of his probation.