A former adjunct professor at Texas Southern University will serve at least five years in prison following a guilty plea to a series of fraud charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Federal sentencing guidelines will likely require Finnih to serve at least 66 months of that sentence.
In addition to his prison term, Finnih has been ordered to pay restitution for the full amount paid out in the fraud scheme, marking the end of a multi-year federal investigation into his fraudulent student financial aid operations across Texas institutions.
Finnih submitted more than 100 fraudulent financial aid applications to the U.S. Department of Education, using identities of straw students at colleges and universities across Texas.
Finnih used a variety of fraudulent means to obtain financial aid refunds that were sent to addresses and bank accounts he controlled.
For example, Finnih would often “masculinize” the names of female students while using the correct Social Security number and date of birth.
Ultimately, Finnih submitted more than $1.3 million in fraudulent applications, of which more than $920,000 was paid out.
“Higher education costs are already skyrocketing out of control, and it’s scammers like Finnih who make it worse, more expensive, and financially damaging for everyone,” stated U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz. “This fraudster will now suffer the consequences of his manipulative, deceitful, un-American crimes.”
Finnih was prosecuted as part of a National Fraud Enforcement effort from the U.S. Department of Justice.
