Chinese student at University of Michigan fled to China after charged with illegal voting: FBI

A Chinese student at the University of Michigan fled to China after being charged with illegal voting in the 2024 election, according to the FBI.

In October, while attending the university as a foreign national student, Haoxiang Gao turned himself in after allegedly being registered to vote and casting a ballot in the general election in Michigan. Gao was charged with two felonies: false swearing to register to vote and trying to vote as an unqualified elector.

During his arraignment, a judge ordered him to surrender his Chinese passport and not leave the state, according to an FBI criminal complaint unsealed on Friday, CBS News reported. The passport Gao turned in had a serial number ending in "1332."

After missing court hearings on March 6 and April 24, a warrant was issued for Gao. According to prosecutors, on Jan. 19, Gao boarded a Delta flight from Detroit International Airport to Shanghai, China, using a Chinese passport in his name with a serial number ending in "7137."

Gao has now been federally charged with flight to avoid prosecution, but the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China.