Aryan Anand, an Indian student who fraudulently got admission to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, has been deported to India after he negotiated a guilty plea to one count of forgery, graded as a second-degree felony in Northampton County Court on June 12.
Anand, 19, was criminally charged with fabricating admission and financial aid documents to attend Lehigh University, as per a release from Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G Baratta.
The incident was brought to light when he posted "I have built my life and career on lies", which was later reported to the University officials by a Reddit moderator.
In the post, he boasted about how he forged the transcripts (both Class X and XII), achievements, experience, letter of recommendation, tax, and income statement and sent them through a fake school domain he bought for college application.
Anand even went on to forge his father's death certificate when he realised it was not enough to secure a position in top universities and financial aid. With this move, he was offered a full scholarship with flight included.
Immediately after getting the information, the Lehigh University Police Department started investigating and confirmed that the post (now deleted) was written by the student himself. They also confirmed that his father was alive and residing in India now, as stated in a report by NBC 10 Philadelphia
Anand was arrested on April 30, 2024, and charged with forgery, tampering with records, theft by deception and theft of services.
He faced up to 20 years in prison for felony counts of forgery and theft of services, reported 6abc. However, at the request of the university, he was expelled and deported to India.
“We appreciate the report and thorough investigation that brought this matter to light,” said the university officials in a statement.
