Pennsylvania: An Indian student studying at the Lehigh University in the US State of Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly faking his father's death to get a scholarship to the school, according to officials, The 19-year-old Aryan Anand from India is a former freshman at Lehigh University who was attending classes while on a full scholarship, according to a report by NBC News.
The District Attorney's Office in Northampton County said that Anand's admission to the school was cancelled in 2024 after officials discovered that he faked his father's death in order to get the scholarship. Officials said Anand created and submitted fake documents including transcripts, financial aid, tax, income statements and a death certificate. He was also accused of making an email address and impersonating a principal.
How a Reddit post unveiled the act?
Interestingly, Anand's actions were revealed after a moderator on the social media platform Reddit notified university officials of a post titled 'I have built my life and career on lies", according to officials. The post was written anonymously, but the moderator identified clues to the post that led to the discovery of his enrollment.
"I haven't told anyone how I got to the point where I am right now. It would destroy everything I have," read the post. A later investigation revealed that Anand was the one who had written the post, as he followed only one other university - Lehigh University - and that his father was found alive and living in India.
Anand was arrested on April 30, 2024, and charged with forgery, tampering with records, theft by deception and theft of services. Anand pleaded guilty to forgery on June 12 and admitted he forged documents and his father's death certificate in order to get a scholarship to enrol in the prestigious university.
Student deported as part of plea deal
As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to one to three months in Northampton County Prison, which amounted to a time-served sentence, the Lehigh Valley News reported citing defence attorney Molly Heidorn. As part of the deal, Anand agreed to return to India and Lehigh University agreed not to pursue restitution of $85,000, she said. The charges of theft and tampering with records were later dropped.
Anand was then handed over to the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Lehigh University appreciates the report to its ethics hotline and the diligent investigation by the Lehigh University Police Department that led to Aryan Anand’s arrest, as well as the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office’s prosecution of Anand for fraud,” said Lehigh University spokeswoman Amy White.
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