WASHINGTON, June 29: An Indian teenager in the US was expelled and awaited deportation after it came light that his entire application, including documents for a full scholarship, was fraudulent.
The 19-year-old’s deception was revealed when a Reddit moderator flagged a post titled “I have built my life and career on lies”, detailing his fabrications, media reports said.
The Indian student, Aryan Anand, enrolled for Lehigh University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2023 August, a report in ABC news said.
The first-year student’s admission was, however, revoked earlier this year after his father’s fake death certificate was uncovered.
It turns out that his entire application was made up, the report in ABC news said.
Anand pleaded guilty earlier this month in Northampton County.
Lehigh had provided Anand with a full scholarship to attend the institution.
Anand was enrolled, but a Reddit administrator highlighted one of his postings. The title was clear: “I have built my life and career on lies.”
The post went on to reveal how Anand fabricated transcripts, financial accounts, and even issued a fraudulent death certificate for his father, who is still alive.
According to Northampton County Assistant D.A. Michael Weinert, if the author had not made a significant mistake, the moderator would not have known who to alert.
“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,” Weinert said.
Anand was arrested two months ago on multiple allegations, including felony counts of forgery and theft of services.
Anand risked 10 to 20 years in prison, but at the request of university officials, his penalty is limited to dismissal from the institution and deportation back to India.
“It was difficult to really verify these things. I think that was great work by Lehigh and their police force. They were able to really dig deep and find all this really was false,” said Weinert.
In a statement, Lehigh University said it “Appreciates the report to its ethics hotline and the diligent investigation by the Lehigh University Police Department that led to Aryan Anand’s arrest.”
(UNI)
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