Jeffrey T. Parsons-Hietikko, a prominent HIV/AIDS researcher who resigned a distinguished professorship in 2019 after a debaucherous work-related party, improperly used federal research funds to enrich himself and take lavish scuba-diving trips in the Cayman Islands, Fiji and Belize, among other locations, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Under the conditions of a settlement order, Parsons has agreed to pay the federal government $375,000. Additionally, the City University of New York’s Hunter College, from which Parsons-Hietikko resigned, will pay the government $200,000, admitting that the school paid the psychology professor retention bonuses with federal research dollars and failed to disclose this.
The settlement concludes an investigation that began when Devin English, who worked as a researcher under Parsons-Hietikko, filed a complaint under seal in 2019. English, who is now an assistant professor at Rutgers University, served as a whistleblower to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, which alleged that Parsons and Hunter had violated the False Claims Act.
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Jeffrey Lichtman, Parsons-Hietikko’s lawyer, told The Post in an email that “There was never any intent by Dr. Parsons to defraud the federal government — which is why he was never charged with a crime. He’s settled this civil matter now and put it behind him.”
Hunter College did not respond on Saturday to an email requesting comment. Neither did the U.S....
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