Mohammad Usman, a former member of the Class of 2010 who pled guilty in April to having committed $18,615 in financial aid fraud, was sentenced last week to three years of probation, including six months of home detention. Usman was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and $200 of additional "special assessment" charges and to complete 100 hours of community service, according to case manager Vinny Negron of the U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H.
Usman pled guilty to charges of higher education student assistance fraud, as well as fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features and information on April 2 after falsely claiming internship funding, financial aid and grants from the College.
According to the case summary filed in February, Usman fraudulently obtained two internship awards and payment for employment from the Tucker Foundation, as well as leave-term work-study funding and a Robinson Grant from Career Services. He also forged the signature of Stuart Lord, former Dean of the Tucker Foundation, the documents said, and allegedly falsified the time sheets student employees must submit to receive payment, according to a member of the Class of 2011 interviewed by The Dartmouth in April, who requested to remain anonymous because of possible reprecussions at his job.
Usman faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to court documents obtained by The Dartmouth in April. The prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega, however, had recommended "a sentence at the low end of the applicable advisory guidelines range" in the plea agreement.
Rubega declined to comment on the hearing other than to commend the work of the Hanover Police Department and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, he said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
Roland Adams, director of media relations at Dartmouth, said the College, including the Tucker Foundation and the General Counsel's Office, did not have a comment on the case.
When reached for comment by The Dartmouth Monday, Usman referred all questions to his lawyer.
His attorney, George Ostler '77, said Usman was satisfied he had received a "fair sentence."
"[Usman] received a sentence that was right within the guidelines," Ostler said. "It was a sentence that we asked for and expected to have a pretty good chance of receiving."
Usman's guilty plea likely had a favorable impact on his sentence, according to Ostler.
"The way sentencing works in federal court, if someone pleads guilty, they do get a downward movement in the sentencing guidelines for acceptance of responsibility," Ostler said.
Usman apologized for his actions at Wednesday's hearing, which lasted about 10 minutes, Negron said.
United States District Court Chief Judge Steven McAuliffe had some "pretty stern words" for Usman and threatened him with imprisonment if he were to commit further crimes, according to Negron.
"He said if [Usman] comes back into the court, he better bring a toothbrush," Negron said.
During his six months of home detention, Usman will have to "remain at his place of residence, except for employment and other activities approved in advance by the probation officer," according to the judgment. Usman must also wear an electronic device to monitor his whereabouts, Negron said. The home detention is set to begin within 14 days of the judgment, according to court documents.
After that six-month period, Usman will have to check in regularly with a probation officer, Negron said. Usman will also have to provide his probation officer with access to "any requested financial information," as one of the "special conditions" of his supervision, according to the judgment.
Usman's fine is to be paid in monthly installments of $200 over a period of 10 months, starting 10 days after the judgment, according to court documents.
Executive directors Kathryn Dodge and Judy Knapp of the New Hampshire Postsecondary Education commission said they were not aware of any other cases of financial aid fraud in New Hampshire.
"If there have been cases they have not been visible," Dodge said.
Officials at the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance program and the Federal Student Aid office in Boston did not return requests for comment by press time.
