Poul Thorsen, a Danish researcher, diverted funds from the CDC and NIH to personal accounts and a private company he controlled. The funds were intended for research into autism and birth defects at universities in Denmark and the US.
Thorsen co-authored studies that are cited to undermine claims that measles vaccines cause autism.
Last week, Thorsen was extradited from Germany to the US and has been charged in a court in Atlanta with wire fraud and money laundering.
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Fugitive Scientist Who Claimed Vaccines Were Safe Extradited After 15 Years on the Run
By Morgan S. Verity, as published by Natural News on 14 May 2026
A researcher who co-authored studies cited as undercutting claims that measles vaccination causes autism has been extradited to the United States on fraud charges 15 years after he was indicted, according to court filings and US prosecutors.
Poul Thorsen, 65, a Danish national, was transported from Germany to the US on 7 May and arraigned in federal court in Atlanta on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, records show. Thorsen is accused of stealing more than $1 million in grant money from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention(“CDC”) and the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) over a period of about 15 years.
The Charges and Alleged Fraud Scheme
The indictment, initially unsealed in 2011, charged Thorsen with 20 counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that he diverted funds intended for research into autism and birth defects at universities in Denmark and the US to personal accounts and a private company he controlled, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court documents cited in news reports, Thorsen submitted false invoices and fabricated expenses to obtain the grant money. The book ‘Master Manipulator’ by investigative journalist James Ottar Grundvig details that a Jutland police indictment sought to charge Thorsen with five counts of theft totalling 6.5 million Danish kroner ($1.02 million) [1]. The funds were meant for research conducted through his NANEA research group at Aarhus University, the book states.
Thorsen’s Research and the Autism-Vaccine Controversy
Thorsen was a co-author on multiple studies produced in collaboration with CDC researchers that reported no link between the measles-mumps-rubella (“MMR”) vaccine or the mercury-based preservative thimerosal and autism. One well-known paper was titled ‘Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence from Danish Population-Based Data’.[2] Public health officials have frequently cited these studies to counter concerns about vaccine safety.
However, health freedom advocates have questioned the integrity of that research because of Thorsen’s alleged fraud. Reports indicate that Thorsen’s studies were used to help deny more than 5,000 vaccine injury claims.[3] The book ‘The Tainted Pillar’ describes how Thorsen’s work “remains uncited” and continues to define vaccine safety orthodoxy despite his conviction.[5]
Extradition and Legal Proceedings
Thorsen was arrested in Germany in 2025 after what authorities described as a decade on the run. His extradition was delayed by appeals but was ultimately completed on 7 May when he was handed over to US marshals, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General.
He appeared in federal court in Atlanta before a magistrate judge. Prosecutors requested that Thorsen be detained pending trial, citing the severity of the charges and his history as a flight risk. A bond hearing was set for a later date, court records show. Thorsen’s defence attorney declined to comment on the case, according to the Epoch Times.[4]
Conclusion and Current Status
Thorsen remains in federal custody as the case proceeds. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on each money laundering count, according to sentencing guidelines.
The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of grant management and oversight within public health research, particularly when studies are used to shape federal vaccine policy. No trial date has been set, and Thorsen is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
References
- James Ottar Grundvig. “Master Manipulator – The Explosive True Story of Fraud Embezzlement at the CDC.”
- NaturalNews.com. “CDC vaccine scientist who downplayed links to autism indicted by DOJ in alleged fraud scheme.” May 6, 2016.
- Cassie B. “Vaccine-Autism Researcher Arrested After Decade on the Run for Stealing $1M from CDC.” NaturalNews.com. September 17, 2025.
- Zachary Stieber. “Vaccine Researcher Extradited to US, Arraigned on Fraud Charges.” The Epoch Times. May 12, 2026.
- “The Tainted Pillar: How a Convicted Fraudster’s Study Still Defines Vaccine Safety.” BrightLearn.ai. May 9, 2026.
- James Ottar Grundvig. “Master Manipulator The Explosive True Story of Fraud Embezzlement and Government Betrayal at the CDC 2016.”
- Zachary Stieber. “Vaccine Researcher Trying To Debunk Measles-Autism Claims Extradited To US On CDC Fraud Charges.” ZeroHedge. May 13, 2026.
Explainer Infographic
Featured image: Poul Thorsen (left) taken from ‘Former CDC Autism Scientist Extradited to U.S. on Fraud, Money Laundering Charges’, The Defender, 11 May 2026. Screenshot from ‘Poul Thorsen Extradition: 7 Shocking Fraud Counts’, Extradition, 10 May 2026 (right).
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Categories: Breaking News, World News
Public schools demand that children have measles vaccines etc. All planned. Why is autism such a desired physical state for children for children? There must be some reason governments want more and more autistic children people? Easy to manipulate? Makes a lot of money? Or just playing medical and government evil?
All of the above, and also the fact that parents are exhausted, frustrated and bamboozzld in to a frenzy so have no time to think about anything else properly and are much easier to manipulate (not all of course).
[…] https://theexposenews.com/2026/05/15/danish-researcher-charged-with-money-laundering/ […]
Meanwhile, Fauci walks free!
Please understand the SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE marketing strategy of these crook…. Create the problems, offer a solutions to generate profits.
Autism was directly caused by a vaccines. Period.
Hi
AkashicRecordLibrarian,
As usual you are on target, here is my explanation.
When I was at school as a lad, there were no Autistic pupils in the school.
Now, I am surrounded by Schools for Autistic children, which have special collection vehicles.
These various vehicles have a designated driver and a trained support worker.
Without a doubt this has all been planned for years, by vaccinating children, younger and younger.
True, this was all planned with well researched to have more children carrying medical mishaps for a long and endless dependable to medical support & care.
Pharmaceutical was a multi-trillions infinite business.
In my school days from year 7 until univ-grads, encounter to autism or down-syndrome kids was zero to none. Nowadays, 1 in 7 kids are either autism, down-syndrome or having multiple health problems since birth. Sad but true.
food allergies too 🙂
True, GMO & UPF play a major role in this slow but steady in weakening the immune systems.
Just imagine kids nowadays allergic to food such as milk and peanuts. Insane..!! More & more are having asthma & autistic.
GMO Peanuts in jelly peanut-butter causing irreversible genetic damage. UPFs such as popcorn, corn syrup, bread/biscuit with bleached wheat flour, sausages/nugget from discarded meat & many more already altered human genetic to be weak.
What makes me furious, those so called expert in health department giving FALSE statements (denies all at all costs) regarding the real cause of these problems comes from vaccines. They are the real murderers.
GMO = Genetically Modified Organism
UPF = Ultra processed Food
I forgot about asthma.
Of course, my lefty friends have told me that they think the reason they have more people saying they have those kind of maladies these days is because they’re testing more.
But when Donald Trump said during the scamdemic that “cases are up because…we have the most testing”, lefties echoed what the media said – that that logic is wrong 😊.
Throw away the key