Four former Lehigh University students from Ghana are accused of lying on their transcripts, which led to them receiving more than $500,000 in financial aid, authorities said.
Henry Dabuo, 22, Otis Opoku, 20, Cyrilstan Nomobon Sowah-Nai, 20, and Evans Oppong, 21, were arraigned this month on charges alleging they lied on their transcripts, leading to their admission at the Bethlehem university.
The four are charged with forgery and theft of services. As of Tuesday they remained in Northampton County Jail under $100,000 bail each.
Lehigh University spokesperson Amy White said the university rescinded admission for the students after “clear evidence of serious fraud was revealed in a small number of cases during a review of applications.”
The university’s admissions office began its investigation late last month, when Dabuo’s brother was admitted to the school. His brother is 25, which is above the age of a typical freshman, which prompted the admissions office to look into his application.
They discovered format, markings and spelling errors in that transcript, which led them to question its validity, according to court documents. His admission was rescinded.
While looking at Dabuo’s brother’s application, officials saw Dabuo was a student at the university. The admissions office looked into his application and found similar errors in his transcript, court documents allege. The admissions office was able to find his actual transcript, which differed from the one he submitted, police said.
Dabuo’s application noted knowing another student, Opoku, according to police. The admissions office looked into Opoku’s application and found similar discrepancies, court documents state. The admissions office obtained his actual transcript and found that it also differed than the one he submitted for his application, police said.
Dabuo’s brother wrote in his application that he knew two students, Oppong and Sowah-Nai, according to officials. The admissions office obtained their actual transcripts and found they also differed from what was submitted, police allege.
Police allege the four received the following financial aid after being admitted to the university:
- Opoku, a student since 2022, received $212,913
- Dabuo, a student since 2023, received $129,344
- Oppong, a student since 2023, received $120,970
- Sowah-Nai, a student since 2023, received $127,214
In total, authorities allege they received roughly $590,440 in financial aid.
None of the men has an attorneys listed. Friends of the four men created a to raise money for their legal fees. They wrote that the four were integral members of the university community and had excellent academic records.
White noted the seriousness of the charges and their effect on academic integrity.
“Fraud committed for the purpose of obtaining admission and financial aid is a felony,” White said. “It impacts the integrity of the admissions process and, if left unaddressed, the university’s ability to create opportunities for qualified students to further their education and have a meaningful impact on society.”
The charges come just months after a former international student at the university admitted to creating phony documents when applying to the school.
Aryan Anand, 19, was charged in April and in June pled guilty to one count of forgery, a second-degree felony.
Authorities said Anand authored an anonymous post on Reddit titled, “I have built my life and career on lies,” in which he explained how he created phony school transcripts, tax statements and even a death certificate for his father — who is still alive — when applying to the university.
The university did not seek restitution from Anand, which would have amounted to around $85,000, on the condition he return to India.
