A Danish vaccine researcher who coauthored a major study supposedly finding no link between the MMR shot and autism has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after siphoning more than $1 million in CDC grant money meant for research on autism and infant disabilities.
Poul Thorsen, 65, admitted on Sept. 1 to running a years-long scheme that diverted federal funds while he worked as a visiting scientist at the CDC. Prosecutors say he submitted fraudulent invoices and pocketed the cash to buy a house in Atlanta, a motorcycle, and other vehicles.
From 2000 to 2009 the CDC sent more than $11 million to two Danish government agencies to examine whether vaccines contributed to autism, among other questions. Thorsen solicited those grants. He later coauthored a 2002 paper using Danish data that reported no association between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, even as other studies have found a link.
Thorsen was first charged in 2011 with 13 counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering. He fled and remained a fugitive for more than 14 years until German authorities extradited him to the United States on May 7, 2026. He has been held without bail since arrival and now faces sentencing Dec. 1 in federal court in Georgia.
Each wire-fraud count carries a maximum of 20 years. A plea agreement has not been made public.
