Mohammad Usman, a former member of the Class of 2010 who left Dartmouth after his 2008 Summer term, pled guilty on Thursday to falsely claiming thousands of dollars in financial aid from the College, including Tucker Foundation internship funding, according to court documents.
Dartmouth spokesman Roland Adams would not confirm whether Usman left the College voluntarily, citing privacy laws.
Usman admitted in federal court to committing identify fraud and higher education student assistance fraud. Usman fraudulently claimed $18,615 in aid between fall 2007 and summer 2008, including Tucker internship awards, Career Services student grants and Student Employment Office work study funding, according to court documents submitted by the prosecution. The documents suggest that Usman misrepresented doing work for which he received payment in the form of the grants and awards.
Usman also allegedly forged the signature of former Dean of the Tucker Foundation Stuart Lord on multiple grant and aid related documents.
Adams would not to comment on the circumstances surrounding the allegations.
Usman faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the documents. However, the prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega, recommended "a sentence at the low end of the applicable advisory guidelines range" in the plea agreement.
A native of Bronx, New York, Usman was a double major in government and geography, according to a previous article in The Dartmouth.
Usman declined to comment on the case or on why he had left the College when contacted by The Dartmouth on Friday, saying that his attorney had advised him against it.
Usman's attorney, George Ostler '77 of DesMeules, Olmstead & Ostler in Norwich, Vt., could not be reached for comment Friday night.
Usman received media attention when he enrolled at Wellesley College, an all-female school, as a transfer student in fall 2007. While at Wellesley, he interned at a clinic for female drug addicts, and he is also listed as an intern of the local nonprofit's web site.
