Mohammad Usman, a former member of the Class of 2010, pled guilty last Thursday, April 2, to falsely claiming thousands of dollars in financial aid and grants from the College, including Tucker Foundation internship funding, according to court documents.
Usman left the College after his 2008 Summer term. Dartmouth spokesman Roland Adams would not confirm whether Usman left the College voluntarily or on the circumstances surrounding the allegations, 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. Tucker internship awards are not need-based and are often awarded to students interning for off-campus nonprofit organizations. Students are limited to one such award during their time at Dartmouth, according to Tucker literature, but Usman apparently received two grants for the same amount. The documents also suggest that Usman misrepresented doing work for which he received payment in the form of the grants and awards.
Usman also pled guilty to forging the signature of former Dean of the Tucker Foundation and current Associate Provost Stuart Lord on multiple grant- and aid- related documents. Lord did not return requests for comment by press time.
Usman faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the documents. The prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega, recommended, however, "a sentence at the low end of the applicable advisory guidelines range" in the plea agreement.
Rubega could not be reached for comment by press time, and his voicemail recording said he will be out of the office until April 10.
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 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 by press time.
Usman received media attention when he attended Wellesley College, an all-female school, as an exchange student in fall 2007. While at Wellesley, he interned at a clinic for female drug addicts. He is also listed as an intern on the web site of a local nonprofit, Vital Communities, which regularly employs students using Dartmouth work-study funds. Neither nonprofit organization could be reached for comment by press time.
Current Dean of the Tucker Foundation Richard Crocker, who assumed his position at Tucker in September after Usman had left the College, declined to comment on the case specifically, citing privacy laws.
Crocker said Tucker is re-examining its process for awarding leave-term funding and work-study, but added that he is confident that most students do not intentionally abuse the programs.
"We've never to our knowledge had a problem like this before, totally unexpected, very much a fluke," Crocker said. "But we have become aware that we need to be more proactive in making sure that students who receive grants from Tucker are involved in the project they proposed, so we are making more systematic check-ups throughout the off term."
A member of the Class of 2010, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid damaging his relationship with Usman, said he was "very surprised" to learn of his friend's legal troubles.
"He seemed really hardworking and involved," the friend said.
Helen Damon-Moore, director of service and educational programs at Tucker, declined to comment, citing privacy and legal issues. Lynn White Cloud, senior program officer for international service at Tucker, could not be reached for comment by press time.
