Social media operates with a dual nature—both vigilant and perilous—demonstrated vividly when Reddit became instrumental in exposing a fraudulent scheme involving an Indian student at a US university. Aryan Anand, a student at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, faced significant consequences after his deceptive practices were unearthed.
In a now-deleted Reddit post, Anand shockingly admitted to constructing “his life and career on lies,” revealing his elaborate strategy to secure admission and a full scholarship through falsified documents. This included forging transcripts, essays, and even a death certificate for his father, who was alive. His motive, as he confessed online, stemmed from a desire for financial independence without burdening his parents: “I just wanted freedom at any cost.”
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Anand’s admission to Lehigh University in August 2023 initially appeared successful, but his scheme unravelled when the university discovered discrepancies, particularly the fabricated death certificate. “I created a completely fake death certificate of my father (I know you all are like what), but I did and sent that to my college, saying my father got cancer and is dead, so my mother would receive his pension (my dad has a govt job) and that would be almost half of this actual income so I won’t be able for these 5K also,” he confessed on Reddit.
recently an indian student was deported from us because he forged the transcripts, rec letters, achievements, state exam results, and sent them through a school domain he bought to apply to collegehe was granted nearly a full scholarship at a top college but decided it wasn’t… pic.twitter.com/Rz91GUqrtL
— anpaure (@anpaure) June 28, 2024
The sequence of events began with Anand’s arrest and initial charges on April 30, during which it was revealed that the 19-year-old had even created a fake email address to impersonate a school principal.
Legal consequences swiftly followed, culminating in Aryan Anand pleading guilty to forgery on June 12 and receiving a sentence of one to three months in Northampton County Prison. His defence attorney, Molly Heidorn, noted that this sentence was largely equivalent to time already served, according to LehighValleyLive News. Despite this, in response to the gravity of the fraud, Lehigh University took decisive action by expelling Anand and arranging for his deportation to India at the university’s request.
In exchange for his plea deal, Anand agreed to return to India, and Lehigh University opted not to pursue restitution of $85,000 (approximately Rs. 70 Lakh). Charges related to theft and record tampering were also dropped as part of the resolution.
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Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Michael Weinert highlighted the crucial role of a Reddit moderator in uncovering the fraud, explaining, “The defendant only had one other university that he followed, which was Lehigh University. So, the moderator actually reached out to Lehigh to give them a heads up,” said Weinert.
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