Morgan State University professor convicted of fraud scheme - Essay Example

Fraudulent A is facing conviction for grant funds fraud, which occurred between 2008 and 2011. The forty-six-year-old Manoj Kumar Jha, who hails from Severn, Maryland, has been charged with stealing of federal property, falsifying of records, and fraud. Information coming from the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicates that he faces a combined maximum sentence of 30 years. Jha is alleged to have fraudulently obtained $200,000 and attempted to obtain further $500,000 in grant funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The prosecutors claim the money he acquired was used to cater for his personal expenses while some were used to pay his wife, although she was not in the NSF’s payroll. In 2011, the prosecution alleges that the professor cunningly falsified documents in a desperate attempt to hide the fraud he had committed. In addition to the fraud, Jha also obtained funds from students through false utterances. He misinformed them that part of the Department of Defense grants was to be handed back to him.

He received a total of $36000, which he later deposited into his personal bank account. Although there is overwhelming evidence against Jha, he has pleaded not guilty. His sentencing has been scheduled for July. The Manoj Kumar Jha’s case is not the first fraud case at Morgan State University. Robert Lee Terrell, an employee of the University, is alleged to have stolen $66,000 in state funds. He is waiting to be arraigned in court later this month.Morgan State University issued a statement about the Jha’s case.

It announced it had done everything within its power to aid cooperation with the federal investigation. Furthermore, it announced that its mechanism of identifying potential fraud had been upgraded, and this new system will quickly arrest any potential fraud before it occurs. Works CitedWells, Carrie. Morgan State University professor convicted of fraud scheme. Maryland, 02 April 2014. Newspaper.