Federal authorities say a Shaw University professor who runs a company that conducts cannabinoid research was accused of wrongdoing in seeking National Science Foundation grants and pandemic-relief loans.
Now, the professor has agreed to pay more than $152,000 to resolve the allegations.
Shaw professor Michael Harrington co-founded Genoverde Biosciences in 2015 “to advance development of intellectual property related to cannabinoid tissue culture protocols ... and full scale production testing from plantlet to flower.” Cannabinoids are chemical compounds produced by cannabis plants.
Genoverde’s facilities include a research lab at Shaw, a greenhouse at NC State University, and farmland in Eastern North Carolina.
Genoverde received Small Business Innovation Research awards from the National Science Foundation for research on harvesting industrial hemp. But Ellis Boyle, U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina, says the company was accused of making false and duplicative expense claims.
“Small Business Innovation Research awards are highly competitive grants intended to fund American-owned small businesses to conduct research that will lead to the commercialization of innovative new products and services,” said Megan E. Wallace, NSF’s acting inspector general, in a statement.
“The NSF Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring the integrity of NSF’s SBIR grant program by holding accountable those who choose to engage in false claims and...
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