Feds: Florida Prof Scammed NASA for $3.4M

Federal agents have seized the property of a University of Florida professor accused of shuttling millions in NASA grants into his family's bank accounts, the Houston Chronicle reports. Nuclear scientist Samim Anghaie, who has worked on developing fuels for future Mars missions, submitted "multiple fraudulent certified contract proposals to NASA" and other federal agencies, according to court documents.

Some $3.4 million in research grants awarded to Anghaie was placed in personal accounts and used to buy luxury cars, land and condos, according to the documents. Anghaie’s Innovative Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute at the University of Florida was shut down and the professor placed on indefinite leave after a federal raid on his offices earlier this week. (More NASA stories.)