Former NIAID adviser pleads guilty in federal records and gratuities case

David M. Morens, a former senior NIAID adviser, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the United States. The DOJ said the plea relates to alleged efforts to evade FOIA and Federal Records Act requirements by using a personal email account for official communications about coronavirus research grants.

According to the guilty plea, Morens also conspired to accept wine and proposed hospitality in connection with an official act. Sentencing is pending; he faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison, although the DOJ noted actual federal sentences are typically lower.