A onetime Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researcher authorities claim “absconded” more than $1 million in federal grant money is now in U.S. custody after dodging American prosecutors for more than a decade.
U.S. Air Marshals flew Poul Thorsen from Germany to Atlanta on Thursday, ABC News reported, ending a fugitive run that stretched 15 years past his original charges. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia indicted Thorsen in 2011 on 13 wire fraud counts and nine money laundering counts.
Thorsen worked as a visiting scientist at the CDC‘s Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities before grants reached two Danish government bodies, the Danish Medical Research Council and the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, according to Atlanta News First. The outlet reported the money funded studies of fetal alcohol syndrome, autism, genetic disorders and infant disabilities. German authorities arrested Thorsen on June 4, 2025. (RELATED: Ex-Marine Accused Of Training Chinese Pilots Loses Bid To Block Extradition To US)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Georgia, in a 2011 announcement, said Thorsen allegedly submitted fake invoices that bore the signature of a CDC laboratory section chief, requesting reimbursement for purported research costs. Aarhus University, his faculty employer, wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to CDC Federal Credit Union accounts it believed were the agency’s. They were allegedly Thorsen’s.
Former HHS-OIG fugitive Poul Thorsen has been extradited to the U.S. Thorsen is accused of stealing over $1M in CDC grant funds meant for critical research on autism and infant disabilities, using fraudulent CDC style invoices to divert money to himself. https://t.co/ruy6nE6Q9l pic.twitter.com/RflnHUpO6p
— OIG at HHS (@OIGatHHS) May 8, 2026
Thorsen allegedly put the money toward an Atlanta home, a Harley Davidson, an Audi, a Honda and cashier’s checks, the USAO’s release stated. Federal authorities are seeking forfeiture of the residence, vehicles and motorcycle.
Each wire fraud count carries up to 20 years in prison and each money laundering count up to 10 years, plus fines of $250,000 per count, according to the USAO.
“His betrayal harms taxpayers, researchers, and the communities who depend on this research,” HHS-OIG spokesperson Yvonne Gamble said in part in a statement to ABC News. Thorsen’s arraignment was set for Friday in federal court in Atlanta.
The Daily Caller reached out to the CDC for comment but has not heard back as of publication.