Overview
- Thorsen, arraigned Friday in federal court in Atlanta, faces 13 wire fraud counts and 9 money laundering counts stemming from a 2011 indictment.
- Prosecutors say he forged CDC-style invoices and routed money into personal accounts at the CDC Federal Credit Union to spend on a home, cars and a motorcycle.
- Federal authorities are seeking forfeiture of the Atlanta residence, an Audi, a Honda and a Harley-Davidson they say were bought with diverted funds.
- He returned to U.S. custody after a 2025 arrest in Germany, ending more than a decade in which he avoided prosecution on the charges.
- The grants at issue supported research on autism and infant disabilities, and experts note the charges concern alleged financial fraud rather than the validity of studies that found no link between vaccines and autism.