Mohammad Usman, a former member of the Class of 2010 who pled guilty to $18,615 in financial aid fraud in April, was sentenced to three years of probation including six months of home detention on Wednesday. Usman was also ordered to pay a $2000 fine and $200 dollars of additional "special assessment" charges and 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, authentification features and information on April 2 after falsely claiming internship funding, financial aid and grants from the College.
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 did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday.
Roland Adams, director of media relations at the College, said the College did not have comment when reached by The Dartmouth on Thursday.
George Ostler '77, Usman's attorney, said he believed Usman was satisfied he had recieved a "fair sentence."
"[Usman] received a sentence that was right within the guildlines." Ostler said. "It was a sentence that we asked for and expected to have a pretty good chance of receiving."
Ostler said that he believed Usman's guilty plea had a favorable impact on his sentence.
"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.
Negron said United States District Court Chief Judge Steven McAuliffe had some "pretty stern words" for Usman.
"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 six months of home detention are set to begin within 14 days of the judgment, according to court documents.
After that six-month period, Usman will have to regularly check in with a probation officer, Negron said. For one of the "special conditions" of his supervision, Usman will have to provide his probation officer with access to "any requested financial information," 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.
Article first posted July 1, 2009 at 2:40 p.m.